Ahsan Raza, an umpire from Pakistan, has claimed that he had actually dreamt of compatriot Aleem Dar winning the ICC Annual Award for the best umpire of the year for the third consecutive year in a row.
Raza stated, “Believe it or not, I had a dream where Aleem was certain to win this trophy for the third year in a row. He (Aleem) rightly deserved this award. He is bound to get an amazing reception when he returns to Pakistan.”
Dar was officiating in the series between Australia and Sri Lanka, but was invited over to London by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in order to attend the award ceremony on Monday, September 12, 2011.
According to sources, “ICC had specifically asked India’s Shavir Tarapore to replace Dar as TV umpire for the 2nd Sri Lanka-Australia Test, so that he can be available for the function.”
The 43-year-old umpire from Pakistan first officiated in an international game back in 2000. He was very confident in decision making and got selected in the ICC umpire’s panel very soon.
Dar’s first major tournament as an umpire was the World Cup in 2003. He did a very good job in the Mega Event and earned in spot in the ICC’s elite panel along with some other brilliant umpires like Simon Taufel from Australia.
This was just the beginning of a successful journey from the proud Pakistani. He went onto officiate the World Cup Finals in 2007 and 2011 and has also been performing his duties in the Ashes series between England and Australia for the past many years.
Apart from Dar, there were a couple of players from Pakistan nominated in the awards. Fast bowler Wahab Riaz and batsman Azhar Ali were named in the category for the best emerging players, but the award went to West Indies’ rising star Devendra Bishoo.
However, Pakistan’s Umar Gul was selected in the ODI team of the year. He was the only player to get the honour even though there were some solid performances from players like Shahid Afridi, who was the highest wicket-taker of the World Cup this year.
