The nominations for the on-field umpires for the Australia-India semi-final in Sydney showed that Aleem Dar was surprisingly omitted from the selection. Richard Kettleborough of England and Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winner Kumar Dharmasen were nominated on Saturday to stand as the on-field officials the Australia-India semi-final in Sydney next Thursday. Marais Erasmus of South Africa will be the TV umpire with former England Test spinner Richard Illingworth acting as the fourth umpire.
The ICC will announce the appointments for the March 29 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after the Sydney semi-final. Pakistan’s Aleem Dar one of the finest adjudicators in the international game who had stood as on-field umpire in the finals of the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. Aleem, Steve Bucknor of West Indies supervised the 2007 final between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Keningston Oval in Bridgetown as on-field umpires with South Africa’s Rudi Koertzen as the TV replays’ official
Rumors from within the ICC are that the faulty decision of Aleem Dar in the quarter final match of India against Bangladesh may have discouraged the officials from selecting Aleem Dar for the semi-finals. Aleem Dar and Ian Gould are facing criticism for their ‘no ball’ call that cost Bangladesh of Rohit Sharma’s wicket during the World Cup quarter-finals against India. Well whatever the case be, Pakistan will have no representation in the final of the World Cup tournament, if Aleem Dar is not selected.