Bangladeshi umpire Sharfuddoula to officiate in T20 World Cup:BCB had refused India visit citing ‘security risk’

Bangladeshi umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid has been included in the list of match officials for the T20 World Cup 2026 group stage. Earlier, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had refused to send its team to India, citing security reasons, which eventually led to their exclusion. Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament after they remained firm on their stance not tour India. The ICC also said that the officials for the Super Eight stage and knockout stages will be announced later. Bangladesh’s Sharfuddoula included in T20 World Cup officials’ list Sharfuddoula’s inclusion in the match officials’ list for the T20 World Cup in India comes after Bangladesh refused to send their team to India. Even as the whole T20 World Cup venue controversy involving Bangladesh rolled on, Sharfuddoula officiated in the India vs New Zealand ODI series in India. Speaking to Bhaskar English, Asif Akbar, a director of the BCB, had asked, “How can India provide security to the Bangladeshi team if they could not assure one player’s security?” Sharfuddoula, in 2024, became the first Bangladeshi umpire to be included in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires. He has officiated in 273 international matches so far. Also read: ‘If we signed Jasprit Bumrah and removed him…’: Bangladesh coach says players ‘disappointed’, but life moves on after T20 World Cup drama Bangladesh’s exclusion from T20 World Cup The whole controversy emerged after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) excluded Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026 after threats from groups amid anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh. Bangladesh then announced that they will not be sending their men’s national team to play in India in the T20 World Cup. Despite several rounds of discussions with the ICC, Bangladesh remained firm in their stance and were eventually removed from the T20 World Cup. Nitin Menon to officiate in fourth T20 World Cup Nitin Menon, part of the ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires, will be officiating in his fourth T20 World Cup, having already been part of the 2021, 2022 and 2024 editions. Anantha Padmanabhan, on the other hand, will be featuring in his first T20 World Cup. Richard Illingworth and Kumar Dharmasena will be the on-field umpires for the much-awaited India vs Pakistan match on 15 February. There will be a total of 24 umpires during the group stage of the T20 World Cup.
Match Officials at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Match Referees: Dean Cosker, David Gilbert, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath.
Umpires: Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri and Asif Yaqoob