DUBAI: Elite Panel umpire Nitin Menon will officiate in his fourth T20 World Cup, while fellow Indian Anantha Padmanabhan will make his debut in the ICC event beginning in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.
Menon, the only Indian in the ICC Elite Panel, had earlier officiated in the 2021, 2022 and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
The third Indian in the list for match officials announced on Friday is J Madanagopal who would be taking part in his second T20 showpiece.
On the opening day of the competition, Menon and Sam Nogajski will be in the middle for the Group C clash between Scotland and the West Indies.
The Indore-based Menon was part of the on-field team for the first semi-final at the 2024 World Cup, between Afghanistan and South Africa, while Nogajski's four group matches last time out included India's clash with the United States of America.
Menon is currently busy with the ongoing T20 series between India and New Zealand and on Saturday would be on on-field duty for his 150th international game across formats, making him the first Indian to do so.
For the game between Pakistan and the Netherlands in Sri Lanka on February 7, Kumar Dharmasena and Wayne Knights will be the on-field umpires.
Dharmasena, an off-spinner who was a member of the Sri Lankan team that won the ODI World Cup in 1996, has overseen 37 matches at the T20 World Cup including the finals of 2016 and 2022, putting him fourth on the all-time list.
New Zealander Knights, in contrast, is at his first T20 World Cup and will reach the landmark of 50 T20Is as on-field umpire in the Group A match in Colombo.
The appointments for the Super Eight and knockout stages will be confirmed in due course, said the ICC.
Rod Tucker leads the way for matches officiated in this competition, on 46, and will bring up his half-century during the tournament.
The Australian will also be in charge of the England versus Nepal, India against Namibia and the South Africa against the United Arab Emirates fixtures.
Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth stood alongside for the 2024 final and will reunite for the Group B clash between Australia and Ireland on February 11.
Illingworth will also be in the middle, alongside Dharmasena, for the crunch clash between rivals India and Pakistan in Colombo on February 15.
In all, 24 officials will be on-field umpires during the group stage, with Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Langton Rusere and Adrian Holdstock among the other returnees.
Match Officials at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Match Referees: Dean Cosker, David Gilbert, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath.
Umpires: Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri and Asif Yaqoob.
