Anil Chaudhary did the umpire's duty during the past 17 editions of the IPL but he has now slipped into the role of a commentator this season after turning 60 last week. It effectively signalled his retirement from officiating the game. Chaudhary's farewell game happened to be the Ranji Trophy final between Kerala and Vidarbha last month at Nagpur and his last international appearance came in September 2023. Overall, he officiated in 12 Tests, 49 ODIs and 64 T20s. With retirement on the horizon, Chaudhary started planning for the future and got into regional commentary which has grown exponentially in the last two years.
He will be part of the Haryanvi feed in the IPL beginning March 22 with occasional stints in Hindi commentary.
"I have been commentating for the past three-four months. So, I was already in the transition phase. I have also been teaching umpiring and commentary via an online platform," he told PTI.
"As an umpire, I did around 15 games in a season, here I would be doing more than 50 (matches). On air, former cricketers look at the game in their own way and being an umpire I have a different perspective on the game. It is fun," said the Delhi-based umpire who had been officiating in the IPL since its inception in 2008.
Chaudhary leaves the umpiring profession a satisfied man though he could never make the ICC elite panel. The elite panel only has one Indian umpire since 2020 -- Nitin Menon.
"I was an international umpire for more than 12 years. Have been doing IPL since 2008 and have done more than 200 games. Kuch na kuch toh reh hee jata hain life mein," said Chaudhary, who feels proud about officiating in five Ranji finals and the Asia Cup final in 2022.
Obsession with bookish knowledge harming standard of Indian umpires
India has become the engine of the game globally but the country has failed to produce elite panel umpires consistently. Chaudhary listed out the reasons why Indians are not excelling as umpires.
"We take a lot of stress on the field. Sometimes, our umpires don't eat properly. We are focussing too much on theory when we should worry about the practical implementation part.
"Some get too technical, quoting the law all the time, that is not the best way to approach umpiring. Umpires who rely on bookish knowledge are harming the game. We need to understand the spirit of law. Just mugging up the law will not take you anywhere," said Chaudhary.
Do former players have a better chance at succeeding in the umpiring job? "I always say one who has played the game, even at the club level, will be more suited to umpiring than someone who has not played at any level.
"Also, in modern cricket, umpires need to be extremely fit. We have a lot of work to do on that front also."
Calls off Kuldeep Yadav' bowling very tough, Kohli was never an issue
An international umpire often finds himself under extreme pressure created by players on the field. Chaudhary has worked extensively with the likes of M S Dhoni, Virat Kohli and current India ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma.
Chaudhary recalled his interactions with the India greats.
"We used to talk off the field as well, at the airport, at breakfast. That helps in building the rapport. Consistency in decision making is something that players notice.
"You can't earn their respect with just a small talk. With Virat, I had the advantage of knowing him since his younger days. We used to joke around a lot on the field. There were times he did not like my decisions but then later applauded when he got to know it was the right call.
"Rohit is such a fine human being and his batting technique is such that it is easy to make decisions when he is batting.
"With MS, he never talks unreasonable stuff. If he is saying something, it warrants your attention. Once Robin Uthappa was batting, he moved across the stumps and I gave a wide. MS said 'he was moving', he was right at the time (it was not wide)." On left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, he added: "Kuldeep is very challenging among Indians. His variations, the bounce and carry he generates makes it tricky. When he is in rhythm, it is very tough to pick him.
"Among international players, David Warner and Stuart Broad made life tough for me on field but it was a lot of fun at the same time," he signed off.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)