LAHORE: ICC elite penal umpire, Aleem Dar said the other day that he has not yet decided to retire from the game and it his desire to continue till the next World Cup in 2019.
“I am not retiring, these are mere speculations as I am enjoying umpiring and I want to stand as an umpire till the next world cup”, he was talking as chief guest at meet the press programme organised by Sports Journalists Association of Lahore (SJAL) here.
Aleem said the ICC wants that he should stand as umpires for years as age wise he is fit to deliver.
“The success and honour I gained from umpiring is because of my honesty and commitment with the game and I never comprised on these principles”, he said adding ô I don’t take a decision on assumptions, what I see I go according to that”, he added.
ICC’s most respected umpire urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to give an attractive package to its umpires in the domestic season so that they should progress ahead without financial worries.
“If the umpires are not well paid then fewer people will take up umpiring as profession”, he said. He quoted the examples of England and Australia where umpires are paid to a higher level in their respective domestic seasons and they don’t have the desire to be a part of ICC elite penal.
Aleem Dar said the most satisfactory part of his career is that his none of decision has been reserved.
He said with the introduction of the technology the game of cricket has become more smooth and controversy free and it also helped in minimising the reservations of the players in case of certain judgments and decisions. “With the introduction of ‘referral’ implementation of a positive impact has been seen in the game as players and umpires relations have improved”, he added.
“Due to a variety of shots in the T20 cricket it was imperative to implement DRS system and ICC has taken a good decision to have it in the shortest version of the game”, added Aleem Dar.
“It is a challenge to stand as an umpire during five days of a test match as it requires best of your abilities during that time long time period”, he maintained.
Aleem Dar said it was unfortunate that international cricket was not being played in Pakistan and acknowledged the steps of the government and the PCB to take extraordinary measures in this regard to ensure the return of the game.
To a question, he said that the final of the PSL in Lahore will give a tremendous boost to the ongoing efforts of the Govt and the PCB to bring back international cricket to Pakistan.
Answering a question, he said after his retirement he will not be associated with the PCB but will be available to put up his suggestions benefit Pakistan cricket.
Aleem Dar said with each passing day Pakistan cricket was going down and it is the need of an hour to concentrate on grassroots cricket to ensure a better tomorrow of the game.
“We need to expose our new cricketers in our domestic cricket to hunt new talent and special emphasis should be laid to improve and revive club cricket which is the backbone of the game”, said the ICC umpire.
“There should be quality cricket instead of quantity cricket and PCB should pay attention to it by giving special attention to club cricket”, he added.
Dar said he is running his cricket academy in which deaf cricketers are also learning cricket alongside normal cricketers and it is his desire to do more for the impaired hearing cricketers by building a school for them.
