Umpire Pashchim Pathak grabbed all the limelight in the IPL 2020 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. SRH captain David Warner won the toss and decided to bowl first.
However, as the players were about to take the field, umpires walked onto the turf and one of the umpires, Pashchim Pathak was seen rocking an amazing long hair look. Sporting a cap, a pair of goggles, and long hair, Pathak caught the eyes of cricket fans everywhere.
He looked completely different in contrast to his colleague Sundaram Ravi, who was soberer in his appearance. Unsurprisingly, his look is drawing reactions from a number of fans with some even calling him a rockstar.
IPL 2020: Ian Bishop and Deep Dasgupta react to MS Dhoni-Paul Reiffel wide ball controversy
Social media has been flooded with photos of Pashchim Pathak as the fans are expressing their surprise over his eye-catching style while some even wanted to know more about the official.
Pashchim Girish Pathak was born in Mumbai on December 17, 1976, has been an umpire in the IPL since the 2014 edition, standing in two matches and in 2015 IPL as well.
He has also stood in two Women’s ODIs in 2012, while has been officiating in Indian domestic cricket since 2009 onwards. And was a reserve umpire for two Tests and three ODIs in India.
In 2015, Pashchim became a well-known name, as became the first Indian umpire to wear a helmet while officiating on the field during the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament that season.
He had taken that decision after seeing his colleague coping a dangerous blow on his head during a Ranji Trophy match. Pashchim Pathak was at the square leg position during the Ranji Trophy match in Tamil Nadu when he saw a shot hit the back of umpire John Ward’s head.
“Post Phil Hughes incident and the death of an umpire in Israel, I had been thinking of wearing some kind of protective gear but wasn’t too sure how wearing a helmet will feel. I had been discussing the prospect of using a helmet with fellow umpires but the thought had stayed at the idea stage only,” he had said back in 2015.
“The sound of the ball hitting him (Ward) was scary. I thought that his skull has opened up. The way he collapsed, it sent shivers down my spine. It was at this moment that I thought I am definitely going to wear a helmet during my next assignment,” he had said.
