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Be fair and admit that Shakib Al Hasan’s kung fu kicks come to mind every time you hear the word “Bangladeshi referee. “
Shakib yelled at them. He carried them with the bat over his head as if it were an axe. He attacked them in flip-flops. The former Bangladesh captain has incorporated the country’s umpires into the lexicon of cricket’s pop culture, lending weight to the concept that they are a dissatisfied and clumsy breed, much like WWE umpires.
Enter Sharfuddoula Ibn Shahid. When the slim, genial umpire stood in last week’s blockbuster Brisbane Test match, it was just the second time a Bangladeshi had officiated as a neutral umpire in a Test.
Sharfuddula had a smart game in Brisbane. He was also the on-field umpire in five World Cup matches in India last year, Bangladesh’s first in the tournament’s history. She was also the first in the country to officiate in any of the Women’s World Cup formats.
But leaving aside its recent high-level assignments, Bangladesh’s track record as a foreign-level referee is slim. Masudur Rahman played in the Asian Cup final a few years ago. Former foreign player Enamul Haque was the first Bangladeshi to officiate as an impartial referee. The former Nadir Shah competed in a final between India and Pakistan in a tri-series in 2008.
Bangladesh’s umpires, however, have been in the news off and on for various scandals and controversies, and for making glaring errors. A few years ago when there were allegations of umpires being used to manipulate domestic limited-overs matches. Things came to a head in ugly fashion with Shakib kicking down the stumps in a Dhaka Premier League game in 2021 after being refused an lbw decision.
Bangladesh is not exactly a country that has produced high-profile referees and qualified referees. The ICC has never had enough confidence in their quality to entrust them with impartial arbitration assignments, so they have only received DIO at home. The BCB, for its part, has never taken arbitration seriously enough to broaden a path for arbitrators to progress.
Considering the excessive and direct strain that the average Bangladeshi referee has to endure in domestic leagues, especially the DPL, one might think that he would also be well-equipped to deal with the high-level strain. With the right education and experience abroad, they may have done a lot more than they did. But as things stand, Sharfuddula remains the sole standard-bearer of Bangladeshi refereeing on the world stage.
A former left-arm spinner who played for Bangladesh in the ICC Trophy in 1994, where he took six wickets in three matches, Sharfuddoula spent a brief time working as a coach, and then joined the BCB in an administrative role. He umpired his first domestic game in 2007, and his international debut came soon after, when he stood alongside Simon Taufel in a Bangladesh-Sri Lanka ODI in 2010
He had to wait 11 years to take part in a trial; that opportunity arose due to Covid 19, which forced the ICC to appoint Bangladeshi arbitrators for home for a while. Sharfuddula spent the intervening years following a first-class regime, A. -T20 national list and events. He has also refereed related ODIs and participated in the men’s World Cup qualifiers (ODI and T20I) in 2018 and 2019.
She officiated at the ODI Women’s World Cups in 2017 and 2022, and the T20 Women’s World Cup in the West Indies in 2018, in addition to several qualifiers for the T20I Women’s World Cup, starting in 2013. He also competed in the U-19 World Cups in 2016 and 2020. However, he had a good experience with the white ball, prior to his participation in the 2023 World Cup, he had only made a handful of appearances as an impartial referee in the ODI or T20I where teams came from full member countries. And prior to his debut as a referee at the Test in 2021, his only times in top-class cricket overseas were in a few matches at the West Indies regional festival in 2016 and a handful of first-class crickets. class-related matches.
“The World Cup was overall a smart experience,” Sharfuddula said after the November tournament. “I didn’t focus too much on the fact that it was my first time at the World Cup, or the fact that it was Bangladesh’s first. I also did nine tests, which gave me a lot of confidence in the tournament. I took it game by game, so we had a good time. “
He ended up standing in some of the more interesting matches in the tournament. He was witness to two upsets; oversaw the two fastest centuries in the tournament’s history, made within three weeks of each other; and the tightest game of the league phase. Glenn Maxwell wouldn’t mind having Sharfuddoula stand in his matches: the umpire was on the field when he made his 40-ball hundred, against Netherlands, and served as fourth umpire during the epic double-hundred against Afghanistan.
When I spoke to him after the tournament, the Brisbane Test was not on the horizon for Sharfuddula. The nomination came after a strong performance at the World Cup. When, at the end of last December, he was announced as one of the control referees in The Box for the match, he was recognized for his quality, resistance and joy at a foreign level.
“I see proper control as genuine control for referees,” Sharfuddula said. “It’s the pinnacle of cricket. You’re under constant pressure in this format. You want to keep making adjustments. You don’t have to jump back into the same game in an ODI or T20I setting. You’re faced with a new challenge every time you consult on a control setting. “
Sharfuddula is a soft-spoken guy and is known by his family members as a practical person. “I never go too high or too low [emotionally],” he said. I was not easily disappointed. I think that’s just the way it was. ” I had to fend for myself from a very young age. I pay attention to myself, I communicate with myself. I was guilty of my development, that helps.
He said he now understands the differences between how arbitration is perceived in the world and in his country. “If we make a mistake in Bangladesh, it’s considered a sin. Error in judgment is a component of life. How temporarily can anyone avoid it? It’s very important for a referee. “
Having done just one Test in 2023, all the way back in April, having your next one be in a day-night match at the Gabba was a challenge, but it was one he looked forward to.
“I went to the World Cup with more than 100 matches under my belt, but a new experience always brings new challenges,” he said. “The Brisbane Test was probably bigger for me, as Test cricket is No. 1, and it was new to me. It wasn’t easy for me to go back into a Test match after eight or nine months. It was also my first game with a pink ball. But I always wanted to do a Test in Brisbane. My wife studies here, so it is one of my favourite cities in the world. It was great to do my first overseas Test there.”
The World Cup has been something of a speed replacement for Sharfuddula, who is used to the pressures of Bangladeshi cricket, where referees are directly blamed for good results and, on rare occasions, even become the subject of memes. At the world level of cricket, for him it was a more pleasurable experience. “Home games are a lot tougher,” he said. “I didn’t feel that way at the World Cup. I enjoyed the matches there, which I don’t do. “”.
The occasionally open hostility towards referees in Bangladesh is one reason why few people get involved in the race, including former cricketers. “Anyone who wants to become a referee or is new to the race wants to remain a religion in themselves,” Sharfuddoula said when asked what advice he would give to those aspiring to become referees. “You can’t lose confidence. We are not identified for our work. Bangladesh wishes to replace its belief in arbitration. As we continue to expand our structure, more arbitrators may stay in the process, which will also need to be supported by monetary security. “
Sharfuddula is a wonderful example of a cricketer whose hard work paid off. He made it to the men’s World Championships and a Test fit in Australia after years of suffering at home and abroad. Things are fine for Sharfuddula. Perhaps the time has come for Bangladesh to treat cricket umpires differently together.