V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
HYDERABAD
Former Hyderabad opener S. Daniel Manohar, who has the distinction of scoring a century on debut in Ranji Trophy (against Karnataka) and in the Wills Trophy one-day tournament (against Bangladesh) in 1997, said it would be a different kind of challenge when he will officiate in his first-ever IPL later this month as Match Referee.
“I am confident that my 11 years of experience featuring 88 First Class games including juniors, Ranji Trophy and India-A as BCCI match referee will help me a lot,” he told The Hindu on Friday.
“I am all excited to officiate in my first match in the IPL when Gujarat Lions take on Lucknow Super Giants on March 28,” said the 48-year-old Manohar, a Deputy Manager in the State Bank of India.
“After retirement, I always wanted to stay connected with the game as a coach or selector and when I saw an opportunity in 2014, I requested HCA to nominate me for the Match Referee’s post (those days each Association could nominate two people based on their First Class career).
“The key is knowing the rules and regulations thoroughly and more importantly communicating when needed. The primary objective will be to conduct the matches smoothly even while being ready for any unexpected development,” he said.
“In any T20 game, over-rate is a big issue and with such high-profile players in the IPL, it will be even more testing for the officials. I remember when Andy Flower, coach of England Lions in a three-day match against India-A in Wayanad four years ago, was not pleased with an umpiring decision on the third day. But, I was successful in convincing that the umpire was right. He went on posing one query after another for the rest of the match but at the end of it, walked across to me to shake hands and said “great, working with you, well done.’ That meant a lot to me,” Manohar added.
