LAHORE – Pakistan’s Aleem Dar has added another feather to his cap as he has become the first umpire in the world to officiate cricket matches for 25 years in a row.
Dar, who previously created history for officiating record 551 matches, made his debut as umpire in February 2000 during a Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan ODI match. Later, he was elected to the panel of the International Cricket Council and subsequently promoted to the elite panel.
He supervised the first Test match in October 2003 when England had taken on Bangladesh in Dhaka while he started umpiring in T20 matches in May 2009 by officiating Pakistan vs Australia match in Dubai.
Dar, who has won three awards for best umpire, has officiated 231 ODIs, 145 Test and 70 T20I matches during his career.
He remained part of the ICC Elite Panel for 19 years and he was nominated six times for the best umpire award.
A day earlier, Aleem Dar appeared in first T20I match between Pakistan and New Zealand, marking the completion of 25 years and two month in the field of umpiring.