Indian umpire Nitin Menon has been on the top of his game in the last few series, with many of his decisions being accurate, despite captains taking DRS reviews. The Test, T20I, and the ODI series between India and England were fiercely competitive and Nitin Menon established himself as one of the best.
He was under pressure given the fierceness of the competition between India and England, but he stood out due to the accuracy of his decisions. Nitin Menon was an embodiment of calmness and accuracy as he got his decisions spot on.
Nitin Menon officiated in all the four-Test matches between India and England and was also part of 6 of the 8 limited-overs matches.
As many as 40 referrals were taken against his decisions and only 5 were upheld during the 10 matches in the India-England series. 23 referrals against Menon were struck down while 12 of them were the umpire's call.
In a staggering indication of his accuracy, 35 referrals were made against his LBW decisions and only 2 of them were overturned.
This led to some of the members of the cricket fraternity praising him with Dinesh Karthik saying that Nitin Menon should win the best umpire award for 2021.
"We have to give credit where it's due and this whole series ,if there has been a revelation, thy name is "NITIN MENON”. He’s been phenomenally consistent and I hope he gets the best umpire award for this year. He is definitely one of the best in the world," Dinesh Karthik tweeted.
Aakash Chopra came up with a meme, giving a piece of advice to captains who opt for review against Menon's decisions.
Nitin Menon also got international praise as former Australia women’s cricketer Lisa Sthalekar tweeted, “Oh he is good....very good. Nitin Menon outstanding umpire. I would never review his decisions.”
Nitin Menon, at 36, became the youngest umpire to be included in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires when he made it to the highest level in June 2020.
