Umpire Nitin Menon to officiate in all 3 India-Australia ODIs

MUMBAI: Indian umpire Nitin Menon will have the distinction of officiating in all the India-Australia games during the Aussies ongoing tour of India. In a big vote of confidence in his abilities, the International Cricket Council has chosen Menon, who is the on-field umpire in all the four Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, to continue in the same role in the three-match ODI series between the two countries in March too. In fact, the entire umpiring panel for the ODIs will be from India.
As per a noting on the ICC website under the section: ‘ICC Umpire and Referee appointments,’ Menon and KN Padmanabhan will be the on-field umpires in the first ODI at Mumbai on March 17, while Virender Sharma will be the third umpire. Menon and Sharma will officiate in the second ODI at Vizag on March 19, with Jayaram Madangopal being the third umpire. Menon and Madangopal will be the on-field umpires for the third ODI at Chennai on March 22, while Padmanabhan will be the third umpire.
Team India on break till 25th
Meanwhile, the fact that the second Test in Delhi finished inside three days has allowed Team India players to take a rare break from the rigmarole of international cricket. The second Test ended on February 19. “The players have been asked to report to Indore, the venue for the third BGT Test on February 25. They will practice there for 2-3 days, before the third Test at the Holkar Stadium kicks off,” a source told TOI.