No Pakistan Trip! Javagal Srinath, Nitin Menon opt out of Champions Trophy

In a surprising turn of events, match referee and former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath and umpire Nitin Menon, will not be officiating in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, set to take place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 to March 9.Sources told ToI that Menon has declined to travel to Pakistan due to “personal reasons”, making him ineligible to officiate in India’s matches in Dubai as tournament rules require neutral umpires. Meanwhile, Srinath, currently serving as a match referee in the ongoing white-ball series between India and England, confirmed to TOI that he requested leave from the ICC.

“Yes, I had asked for leave as I had quite a few days away from home in the month of November, December, and January,” Srinath stated from Nagpur, where the first ODI of the India-England series is being held.

With India’s top officials missing from the tournament, the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be officiated entirely by non-Indian match referees and umpires.

ICC Announces Match Officials Without Indian Representation

The ICC on Wednesday released a list of 12 umpires and three match referees for the eight-team global tournament, with no Indian names on the list. Srinath, the only Indian in the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, and Menon, India’s sole representative in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, were notable absentees.

The match referees for the tournament will be David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft—all part of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.The ICC has yet to respond to queries regarding their exclusions, while Menon remained unavailable for comment.

Champions Trophy: Returning Umpires and Familiar Faces

Among the six returning umpires from the 2017 Champions Trophy is Richard Kettleborough, who has officiated 108 men’s ODIs and was the on-field umpire for the 2017 final in the United Kingdom. Other returning umpires include:

• Chris Gaffaney
• Kumar Dharmasena
• Richard Illingworth
• Paul Reiffel
• Rod Tucker

Kettleborough and Illingworth, who officiated together in the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, are joined by:

• Michael Gough
• Adrian Holdstock
• Ahsan Raza
• Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid
• Alex Wharf
• Joel Wilson

David Boon, who served as a referee in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, and Pycroft, a seasoned official in ICC events, will also be part of the match officials’ panel.

ICC Confident in Its Selection

Sean Easey, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees, backed the selected officials, saying: “We are pleased to announce our panel of match officials for the upcoming Men’s Champions Trophy. This is a credentialed officiating team whose expertise will be valuable in this high-profile tournament.”

“We always try to name the most suitable and deserving officials for any event, and we are confident this group will do a fine job across the matches in Pakistan and the UAE. I wish them all the best and hope they have a memorable tournament.”

Complete List of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Match Officials

Umpires:

• Kumar Dharmasena
• Chris Gaffaney
• Michael Gough
• Adrian Holdstock
• Richard Illingworth
• Richard Kettleborough
• Ahsan Raza
• Paul Reiffel
• Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid
• Rodney Tucker
• Alex Wharf
• Joel Wilson

Match Referees:

• David Boon
• Ranjan Madugalle
• Andrew Pycroft

(With ToI inputs)