The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 begins on February 19.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the match officials for the next ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025, which will be hosted in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates from February 19 to March 9. The event will be held in four renowned venues: Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, and Dubai in the UAE.
The 8-team event will be officiated by a prestigious panel of 12 umpires, six of whom return from the 2017 edition, including Richard Kettleborough, who appeared in the final of the previous Champions Trophy in the United Kingdom.
Kettleborough, a veteran of 108 Men's One-Day Internationals, will be joined by fellow umpires Chris Gaffaney, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel, and Rod Tucker, all of whom presided in the 2017 event.
Dharmasena will continue to officiate 132 One-Day Internationals at the 2018 tournament, a record for a Sri Lankan umpire in this format.
Kettleborough and Illingworth, who stood together in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad, are joined by Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Raza, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Alex Wharf, and Joel Wilson, who all officiated in the World Cup in India.
The match referees will be led by David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft, all of whom are members of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. Boon officiated the 2017 Champions Trophy final, whereas Madugalle returns from refereeing the 2013 final, and Pycroft also appeared in the 2017.
Interestingly, neither Javagal Srinath was chosen as a match referee or Nitin Menon was picked as an umpire for the ICC event. This might be due to their role in the Shivam Dube-Harshit Rana concussion substitute controversy in the 4th T20I between India and England recenty.
“We are pleased to announce this highly credentialed team of match officials for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. Their collective expertise and experience will be invaluable in ensuring the tournament runs smoothly.
We always strive to appoint the most deserving officials for such prestigious events, and we are confident that this group will do an outstanding job in both Pakistan and the UAE. We wish them all the best for a memorable tournament,” Sean Easey, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees said.
ICC Champions Trophy Match Officials:
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson.
Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft.
(ICC inputs)