It is the second year in a row that he has received the ICC award which has been newly named after the late England umpire David Shepherd and upon collecting the trophy from Chris Broad, Dar said “I think the fact I'm still playing cricket in Pakistan makes me a good umpire, in the last four times I've played cricket I scored centuries so I definitely think that has helped.
“I'm honored to have been named the winner for the second year in row.” he commented.
Lahore-based Aleem Dar beat off strong competition from his colleagues on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires Steve Davis, Tony Hill and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel.
Dar, who made his international debut as an umpire in 2000, joined the Elite Panel in 2004. In the voting period of these awards, Dar stood in three Tests and 17 ODIs, as well as nine Twenty20 Internationals.
He stood in the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies, where he was an on-field umpire in eight of the matches, including the final between England and Australia.
The Umpire of the Year is one of 12 individual and team honors handed out during the ICC Awards. Based on the period between 24 August 24, 2009 and August 10, 2010, the LG ICC Awards 2010 presented in association with FICA take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.
The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its seventh year and this year is being held in Bangalore. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007 and 2009) and Dubai (2008).
