BCCI introduces A+ category for umpires

Nitin Menon is among 10 officials grouped in the newly introduced A+ category of BCCI umpires.

ICC Elite Panel member Nitin Menon is among 10 officials grouped in the newly introduced A+ category for umpires unveiled by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The others in the A+ category include four international umpires - Anil Chaudhary, Madangopal Jayaraman, Virender Kumar Sharma and K N Ananthapadmabhanan.

Nitin Menon is among 10 officials in the new category.  (Twitter)

Rohan Pandit, Nikhil Patwardhan, Sadashiv Iyer, Ulhas Gandhe and Navdeep Singh Sidhu are also part of the A+ category. Twenty umpires including C Shamshuddin form the A group, 60 are in Group B, 46 in Group C and 11 in Group D which falls in the 60-65 age bracket.

The complete list was tabled at the Apex Council meeting on Thursday following the work done by former international umpires K Hariharan, Sudhir Asnani and Amiesh Saheba, and members of BCCI umpires' sub-committee. Umpires in A+ and A category are paid ₹40,000 a day for a first-class game while ₹30,000 a day are paid in the B and C category.

Meanwhile, he BCCI is mulling to restart the prestigious Duleep Trophy and the Irani Cup, while a full Ranji Trophy season is also on the cards for the upcoming domestic season.

The Duleep Trophy and the Irani Cup have not taken place for at least three seasons, while the BCCI had to cancel the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, BCCI held a curtailed Ranji Trophy season.

The BCCI Apex Council on Thursday discussed various options for the 2022-23 season with Board President Sourav Ganguly announcing that a full domestic season will take place in 2022-23.