RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s Aleem Dar today (Sunday) surpassed South African Rudi Koertzen’s record of most ODIs as an umpire in the second match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The legendary umpire has now officiated in 210 ODIs and is followed by Koertzen (209), Billy Bowden (200), Steve Bucknor (181) and Simon Taufel and Daryl Harper (174).
Aleem Dar breaks the record for most ODIs as an on-field umpire ????
Aleem Dar ➜ 210
Rudi Koertzen ➜ 209
Billy Bowden ➜ 200
Steve Bucknor ➜ 181
Daryl Harper, Simon Taufel ➜ 174Congratulations ???? | #PAKvZIM pic.twitter.com/xyqvnFKWEU
— ICC (@ICC) November 1, 2020
In a statement, Aleem Dar said, “It is a matter of great honour for me to be on the top of the list of both Tests and ODIs for umpires. When I had started out in the profession, I had never imagined I would get this far.”
“I can only say that I have enjoyed every moment on the field and learning has been an ongoing process all this while,” Aleem Dar added.
Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager Umpires and Referees congratulated Dar and said, “Aleem has been a very consistent umpire over the years, and this is reflected in his 16 years on the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.”
“We congratulate Aleem on the milestone and wish him all the best for the upcoming game and series. We are sure many aspiring match officials look up to Aleem, and he will continue to inspire the next generation,” he added.
Last year, Dar passed Bucknor to the top of the Test umpires’ list. He holds the record of officiating in 132 Tests and is second in the list of T20Is, only behind compatriot Ahsan Raza, with 46 T20Is.
He has officiated in 387 international matches so far, the most by any umpire. Dar has also won the David Shepherd Trophy as the best umpire of the year for three years in a row from 2009 to 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006.
