Aleem Dar breaks record for most ODIs officiated as on-field umpire

Dar was already the record-holder in Test matches, having stood in 132 five-day games. He went past West Indian Steve Bucknor’s previous record of 128 in reaching that milestone

Aleem Dar has broken the record for the most ODIs officiated as an on-field umpire after standing in his 210th game.

The Pakistani official went past South African Rudi Koertzen’s tally of 209 games during Pakistan’s six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe at Rawalpindi.

Dar was already the record-holder in Test matches, having stood in 132 five-day games. He went past West Indian Steve Bucknor’s previous record of 128 in reaching that milestone. Koertzen is the only other official to have stood in more than 100 Tests.

In T20Is, only compatriot Ahsan Raza sits ahead of Dar, with 49 matches to his name against Dar’s 46. Dar and Raza are each due to officiate two matches in the forthcoming T20I series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, meaning that Raza will become the first umpire to stand in 50 T20Is.

Dar’s overall international tally now sits at 388 matches across all formats, 20 years on from his international umpiring debut in a 2000 ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Dar said: “It is a matter of great honour for me to be on top of the list of both Tests and ODIs for umpires. 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.”

ICC senior manager for umpires and referees Adrian Griffith added: “We congratulate Aleem on the milestone. We are sure many aspiring match officials look up to Aleem, and he will continue to inspire the next generation.”

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