Chettithody Shamshuddin, better known as Shamshu in Hyderabad cricket circles did the city proud when he was named the lone Indian among the five new third umpires appointed to the ICC’s international panel announced on Thursday.
The 42-year-old made his international debut in the India-England Twenty20 match in Pune last month.
After that he stood in the recent Twenty20 between India and Pakistan in Bengaluru and was the third umpire for the subsequent India-Pakistan Twenty20 at Ahmedabad.
“The International Panel of Umpires comprises match officials who are nominated by their home boards and accredited by the ICC. The umpires on this panel can be assigned all three formats of the game. The five new third umpires are Anisur Rahman (Bangladesh), Michael Gough and Tim Robinson (both England), C. Shamshuddin (India) and Derek Walker (New Zealand),” the ICC said in a statement.
Having played for Bharatiya Cricket Club, Adams XI and Finecab CC in the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s lower division league in the 1990s — he was a middle order batsman and a medium pacer who turned to leg-spin later — Shamshuddin took to umpiring part-time to earn some pocket money.
He gradually began to take interest in the role and started to sharpen his skills. He then put in the hard yards as he set higher standards for himself.
In 1997, the BCCI conducted umpires examination but Shamshu didn’t qualify. Back to the drawing board, he reorganised himself and endured a long wait. It wasn’t until 2006 when the BCCI held the umpires exam again. This time, Shamshu came out flying in all departments — match management, conflict resolution, code of conduct, calculation of overs in rain affected matches, team work, field craft, body language, positioning, etc.
Three years later, in the 2009-10 season, Shamshu got to stand in his first Ranji Trophy game.
Consistent performances then saw him comfortably climb to the top rung.
Umpiring no doubt is a high-pressure job, especially given the noise level at Indian venues where faint edges are very difficult to detect but Shamshu stays mentally focussed.
Listening to light music, reading interesting books and not thinking too much about pressure situations besides talking to himself are part of his mental preparation.
Regular walking, light jogging and a few stretching exercises keep him physically fit.
Besides watching videos, Shamshu practices by attending net sessions when the state and academy teams are training and is a regular at the Gymkhana grounds.
With a work ethic like that, it’s only a matter of time before the Hyderabadi is in the centre of action (on-field) at top level matches.
source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Sports> Cricket / by K. Moses , DC / January 04th, 2013