History to be made at T20 World Cup as umpires named for tournament opener

Shahid Saikat will make history for Bangladesh as he is set to officiate the first game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on 1 June between USA and Canada.

Saikat will become the first Bangladeshi umpire to officiate at the prestigious T20I men’s event.

His experience includes officiating five matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, as well as serving on the panel for two ICC Women’s Cricket World Cups and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018.

Joining Saikat for the first match will be Richard Illingworth, the reigning and three-time winner of the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year.

Richie Richardson will be the match referee for the tournament opener, with Sam Nogajski named the TV umpire and Langton Rusere the fourth umpire.

In addition to Nogajski, four other officials will make their senior men’s tournament debuts next month – Rashid Riaz, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Allahudien Paleker and Asif Yaqoob.

Richard Illingworth and Shahid Saikat walk out to officiate the CWC23 match between South Africa and Sri Lanka // Getty Images

Match Officials for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024:

Umpires: Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Allahudien Paleker, Richard Kettleborough, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, Ahsan Raza, Rashid Riaz, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Shahid Saikat, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson and Asif Yaqoob.

Match referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath.