The former umpire Anil Chaudhary, who will be joining the commentary team for the forthcoming IPL 2025 season, which will begin on March 22 at the Eden Gardens between Kolkata Knight Rider and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was one of the many transitional times in the IPL.
Chaudhary has many years of experience as an umpire. In addition to having officiated IPL matches for the past 17 years, he will share his thoughts on the Haryanavi feed during the competition. Although some might think that switching from umpiring games to commentating would be difficult, Chaudhary has disclosed that he has been doing so for the past three months and discusses how his viewpoint on the game may be different from that of the former cricketers. Despite not being a member of the ICC elite panel, which has only included one Indian umpire thus far in the form of Nitin Menon, he added that he is happy with his work as an umpire.
“I have been commentating for the past three-four months. So, I was already in the transition phase. I have also been teaching umpiring and commentary via an online platform, as an umpire, I did around 15 games in a season, here I would be doing more than 50 (matches). On air, former cricketers look at the game in their own way, and being an umpire I have a different perspective on the game. It is fun.”
Anil Chaudhary
“I was an international umpire for more than 12 years. Have been doing IPL since 2008 and have done more than 200 games. Kuch na kuch toh reh hee jata hain life mein (Something gets left behind in life).”
Anil Chaudhary
We take a lot of stress on the field: Anil Chaudhary
In addition to discussing his experience as a commentator, Anil Chaudhary shared his thoughts on why Indian umpires aren’t performing well in the game. According to Chaudhary, Indian umpires endure a great deal of stress on the field and can neglect their health. He added that the game will suffer much more if bookish information gets mugged up.
“We take a lot of stress on the field. Sometimes, our umpires don’t eat properly. We are focussing too much on theory when we should worry about the practical implementation part. Some get too technical, quoting the law all the time, that is not the best way to approach umpiring. Umpires who rely on bookish knowledge are harming the game. We need to understand the spirit of law. Just mugging up the law will not take you anywhere.”
Anil Chaudhary
