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The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the match official for the group stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, beginning February 7.
During the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group stage, there will be 24 on-field umpires and six match referees.
The officials for the Super Eight and knockout stages will be revealed later.
Kumar Dharmasena and Wayne Knights will serve as on-field umpires for Pakistan’s opening match against the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
This will be Knights’ first appearance in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, while Dharmasena continues to build on his significant tournament experience.
Dharmasena was a member of Sri Lanka’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup winning side in 1996.
He has officiated 37 matches in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the finals in 2016 and 2022. This achievement places him fourth all-time in terms of competition match officiating.
During the Group A match, Knights will also reach a notable milestone as an on-field umpire, officiating his 50th T20I. Nitin Menon and Sam Nogajski will lead Scotland’s Group C encounter against the West Indies on the first day in Kolkata.
Menon was a member of the on-field umpire team for the first semi-final of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup between Afghanistan and South Africa. Nogajski officiated four group matches in the previous tournament, including India’s match versus the United States.
India and the United States will meet later on February 7 in Mumbai, with Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker serving as on-field umpires.
Tucker has refereed the most matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with 46 appearances to far. He is ready to play his 50th match of the competition. The Australian will also officiate matches between England and Nepal, India and Namibia, and South Africa and the UAE.
Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth, who worked together in the 2024 final, will rejoin for Australia’s Group B match against Ireland on February 11. Illingworth will also be on the field with Dharmasena for India’s vital group-stage match against Pakistan in Colombo on February 15.
Match Referees:
Dean Cosker, David Gilbert, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson, Javagal Srinath.
Umpires:
Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri, Asif Yaqoob
Source: IANS
