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Amid Bangladesh's concern for player safety in India during next month's T20 World Cup, umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat is freely officiating in the first ODI between India and New Zealand on Sunday at the BCA stadium in Vadodara, raising quite a few eyebrows. Sharfuddoula was the third umpire for the contest.
Much like the recent strained relations between the two countries, the India-Bangladesh cricketing relations also took a hit after Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) following orders from the BCCI.
As a protest, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC) requesting to shift their T20 World Cup 2026 matches to a neutral venue (Sri Lanka), thus refusing to travel to India. The ICC is yet to decide on the outcome of BCB's request.
Amid all these, Sharfuddoula's participation in India on Sunday didn't go well with the fans. Notably, Sharfuddoula is Bangladesh's only umpire at the ICC Elite Panel. He is also slated to officiate in the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting from February 7.
What did BCB say about Sharfuddoula?
Reacting to Sharfuddoula's participation in the India vs New Zealand ODI series, the BCB revealed that the 49-year-old isn't contracted with the board and hence doesn't require a No Objection Certificate (NoC). “He (Saikat) is ICC contracted umpire and we are saying this clearly that he is not contracted with us (BCB),” BCB's umpire department chairman Iftekhar Rahman told Cricbuzz.
According to Iftekhar, Sharfuddoula is free to leave the country when ICC requires him as BCB has no authority over his participation. Sharfuddoula recently officiated in the Bangladesh Premier Legue and is also currently the Head of BCB's Umpire Education Department.
"Now, in our contract it is written that when he has any ICC assignment, he will automatically be on leave from us. It will be an automatic leave and I don't need to give any NOC. In the job contract he has with me, it is written that if he has any ICC engagement, he must be automatically released. There is no authority for me to decide whether I give permission or not," Iftekhar further added.
Who is Sharfuddoula?
A former cricketer, Sharfuddoula represented Bangladesh in the 1994 ICC Trophy. However, his matches were not listed as official international matches since Bangladesh were not granted ICC's full member status at that time. Following his retirement from cricket, Sharfuddoula took up umpiring to stay with the game.
His first match as an umpire came in 2007 during a domestic match. Three years later Sharfuddoula made his international debut in an ODI between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He is also the first umpire from the nation to be included in ICC's Elite Panel of umpires.
So far, Sharfuddoula has officiated in in 32 Tests, 118 ODIs, 75 T20Is, 17 women’s ODIs, and 28 women’s T20Is. He also became the second from Bangladesh to officiate in a neutral match between Australia and West Indies in Brisbane in 2024.
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