Pakistani umpire, Aleem Dar, has equaled his idol, Steve Bucknor’s record of umpiring in the most number of Test matches. Dar, who is officiating in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, has now umpired in 128 Tests. Bucknor’s career lasted from 1989-2009, during which he oversaw 128 Tests and 188 ODIs.
The 51-year-old’s career began with an ODI at Gujranwala back in 2000 when he was 31 years of age. Until now, he has officiated 128 Tests, 206 ODIs and 43 T20Is.
He termed his achievement an honor, especially due to the fact that he now shares the record with his idol.
It’s a great honor to equal the number of Test matches of my role model, umpire Steve Bucknor.
Dar has been part of all the ICC Cricket World Cups since 2003. Thanking all his supporters, he said that it was not easy to achieve this without their support.
I am thankful to Almighty Allah, ICC, PCB, my colleagues, my coaches, my club P&T and especially thanks to my family as without their help it was not easy to achieve this.
Dar has a number of other records to his name. He won the David Shepherd Trophy for the Best Umpire three years in a row from 2009 to 2011 for his brilliant umpiring skills.
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