Former Gujarat batsman, Amish Saheba will be standing in his 100th first-class match when he officiates in the Ranji Trophy game between Chhattisgarh and Kerala in Jamshedpur from Oct 27-30, 2016. He has also officiated in three Test matches and 51 ODIs. The only other umpire to have passed the three-figure mark in first-class cricket is Suresh Shastri, who stood in 107 matches.
“When I look back...I passed the examination in 1991...it has been a long journey. The basic facilities and coaching have improved a lot since,” he says reflecting on the time passed.
“My 100th game will definitely will be the memorable one, but the most memorable was the first ODI I did in 2000 (between India and Zimbabwe) when I just stepped onto the field of play, it was memorable. After doing Ranji Trophy matches, being an international umpire over there was a great feeling for me,” he says recalling one of the most precious moments in his career.
When asked why he chose to become an umpire, he explains, “I come from a sports family. My father was a Ranji Trophy player and so was my uncle. All these years we have been in involved team sports. After my retirement, I thought, ‘now let’s go in for some individual sport’ and I thought that umpiring is an individual sport you - go there, perform, and go off. I chose umpiring for that purpose.
“I come from Ahmedabad, and was the first Ranji Trophy player (from Gujarat) to come as an umpire on the field of play. At that time, we weren’t getting law books (books and reference material regarding umpiring laws) for the purpose. If I had any queries I had to write a letter to my senior (who would be) in another state and get clarification. Now the internet circulates everything, information is easily available. But in 1991, there was no such (easy and quick method for) communication (and information dissemination).”
Discussing the evolution in umpiring and the advantages that technology affords, he mentioned, “Earlier the broadcasters had limited technology and resources with them, but now in 2016, technology has improved a lot. A lot of new innovations have been brought in so the decisions (and other aspects) can be monitored through different angles, (and) through different technologies like Hawkeye, hotspot and everything else. A lot has changed.”
Technology has also aided in evaluation and learning for umpires as well. Speaking of which, he said, “Now a lot of technology is being used to see the umpires’ performance on the field, which has helped a lot in evaluation of an umpire and track the progress as well. We can also watch our mistakes and improve on that.”
Speaking about his job on the field, he says, “Being a first-class cricketer, I see to it that there must be a healthy competition between the bat and the ball. While standing in the middle you can very well make out how the players feel the pressure - what the bowler’s psychology (what is going on in his mind), what is the batsman’s psychology when he is not getting runs. And you are focussed on your performance too.”
Discussing the challenges, he said, “When you are dealing with ground, weather and situations like light condition; when one team wants to play and the other doesn’t, these are challenges that you have to handle in a very professional manner. Also, one must be very consistent in your approach with both the teams. You have to keep all the balances in your mind, that is the biggest challenge - to keep consistency in your approach and in your performance.”
Asked how he works towards maintaining the balance, he elaborated, “Being a (former) first-class and Ranji Trophy player, I know very well when to step in and when not to in different (and difficult) situations, which is a very important thing. Because a situation is there when you have given a bad decision and the next moment immediately you step in you lose the respect from the players over there itself, so you must know very well when to talk to the player and when not to talk to a player and handle the situation.”
As he looks forward to officiating in his 100th first-class match in the prestigious Ranji Trophy, Saheba said that he thanks the BCCI and the state units of BCCI for making this milestone possible, and for helping and encouraging him to be able to reach this stage.
