The International Cricket Council (ICC) included KN Ananthapadmanabhan in its international panel of umpires after giving fellow Indian Nitin Menon promotion to the elite panel recently.
Ananthapadmanabhan, who played first-class cricket for Kerala as a leg-spinner, has joined the list of Indian umpires such as C Shamshuddin, Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma who are already part of the international panel.
With his inclusion in the panel, the man is now eligible to umpire in ODIs, T20Is and the junior (U-19) World Cup.
Ananthapadmanabhan has officiated in all major domestic tournaments, including the annual T20 carnival, the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was among the on-field umpires for the last season's Ranji Trophy final in Rajkot between Saurashtra and Bengal.
Playing 105 first-class matches from 1988 to 2004, he took 344 wickets at an average of 27.54, including 25 five-fers and 5 ten-wicket hauls.
The 50-year-old once also featured in 54 List A games and took 87 wickets, going at an economy rate of 4.13.
