Aleem Dar, the 52-year-old from Pakistan, will go past South African Rudi Koertzen‘s mark for officiating in the most ODIs as an on-field umpire when he steps out for his 210th match in the format, the second ODI between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi on Sunday.
Dar already holds the record for officiating in the most international matches, 387, as well as the mark for Test matches, 132; he earned the Test record last year when he officiated in his 129th Test – Australia vs New Zealand in Perth in December – to go past Jamaican Steve Bucknor‘s mark. He is second only to compatriot Ahsan Raza when it comes to T20Is, having officiated in 46 of them.
“It is a matter of great honour for me to be on the top of the list of both Tests and ODIs for umpires,” Dar said in a statement released by the ICC. “When I had started out in the profession, I had never imagined I would get this far. I can only say that I have enjoyed every moment on the field and learning has been an ongoing process all this while.”
Dar, who played 17 first-class matches, mainly as a legspinner, between 1986-87 and 1997-98 and also turned out in 18 List A games, made his international debut as an umpire in February 2000, in an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Gujranwala, his hometown.
He has been a part of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires for 16 years, something Adrian Griffith, the ICC’s senior manager for umpires and referees, put down to Dar being “a very consistent umpire over the years”.