‘Respect more important than being liked by all’

Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat stated that being the first Bangladesh umpire to make the cut in ICC's Elite Panel of umpires "is a matter of great honour".

"To be the first from my country on the panel makes it extra special and I look forward to justifying the faith shown in me," Sharfuddoula said in yesterday's ICC media release.

The 47-year-old had been a cricketer and also played in the 1994 ICC Trophy. However, injury issues saw him turn to umpiring. Sharfuddoula would go on to join Bangladesh Cricket Board as cricket operations manager, but later had quit to become an umpire.

So far, he has overseen 10 Tests, 63 One-Day Internationals, and 44 Twenty20 Internationals.

"I played the Dhaka Premier League in 89 and I was in class 8 or 9 playing for Surjo Torun. Then I played for the Bangladesh team in 92 after passing SSC. I think I was too young, and then in 94 I played the ICC Trophy.

"Funny thing is that I played for the U-19s after I was already captaining the national side. Then I played the Premier League for 17 to 18 years and then had one first-class tournament before the back pain came. I decided on a job or studies before coming to umpiring," he said about his career in a BCB video.

Saikat had umpired in the Australia vs West Indies series recently, a high-voltage series fought with passion. Yet, having umpired in World Cup games in India and a Test series as neutral umpire in Australia, Saikat considers home matches to be the most difficult.

"Umpiring here is a lot of pressure. We are a cricket-obsessed nation, and everyone wants the team to win. We also want it to be understood that when we go out into the ground, we must maintain neutrality.

"We can't be biased. I have played for Bangladesh and, of course, I feel good when the team wins but there are errors in judgement, and it's part of life and people need to accept that too.

"Actually, I have done World Cups and also the Test series in Australia. However, truth be told, I haven't felt the kind of pressure that I feel umpiring on home soil.

"But people are now seeing that umpiring is a difficult job, and umpires are human beings as well," he added.

Saikat, who is also the first from Bangladesh to umpire in a World Cup match, serves as an example for many who wish to become umpires. One of his advices to young and upcoming umpires is that "an umpire should look to earn respect rather than be liked by everyone."

"I have played cricket, but I feel that I haven't done anything more difficult than umpiring. If someone wants to come, they need to know that on days you will head back home crying. In our country's perspective, there is undue criticism of umpiring.

"But it's not like good days aren't there. One thing I would say is not to lose confidence in yourself," he said.

Saikat's consistency is something that ICC chief Geoff Allardice caught on to, saying it is "a well-deserved reward for many years of consistent performances".