The excitement for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is increasing with every passing day. The quadrennial event will be held in India from October 5 to November 19.

Amid the buzz, the International Cricket Council on Monday (September 25) confirmed Kumar Dharmasena and Nitin Menon as on-field umpires for the opening match of the World Cup between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

"Kumar Dharmasena and Nitin Menon will be the on-field umpires for the opening match of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 between England and New Zealand," ICC said in a statement.

For the tournament opener, Paul Wilson will play the role of a TV umpire while Shahid Saikat and Javagal Srinath will serve as the fourth umpire and match referee respectively.

Earlier this month, the apex body named 20 match officials for the league stage of the 50-over World Cup. The officials for the semi-finals and final will be announced in due course of the tournament.

The list includes 16 umpires and four match referees. Of these, 12 belong to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and they are Christopher Gaffaney (New Zealand), Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Michael Gough (England), Nitin Menon (India), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Rodney Tucker (Australia), Joel Wilson (West Indies), Ahsan Raza (Pakistan), and Adrian Holdstock (South Africa).

The remaining four belong to the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel, featuring Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid (Bangladesh), Paul Wilson (Australia), Alex Wharf (England) and Chris Brown (New Zealand).

On the other hand, the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees for the showpiece event are Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Richie Richardson (West Indies) and Javagal Srinath (India).