By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London : Who exactly is Aleem Dar, the umpire who wrongly gave Indian star batsman Sachin Tendulkar out at the Lord’s and almost wrecked what was set to be a pulsating final of the Natwest Trophy?
Dar, who has largely had a decent run as an umpire in recent years, also gave out Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, a decision which too looked controversial in television replays. With two stalwarts out to dubious decisions, the thrill was almost sucked out of the game.
Dar was born Aleem Sarwar Dar in the Jhang district of the Pakistani Punjab in June 1968. He had a cricket career of sorts when he played in the Pakistani domestic circuit for Allied Bank, Gujranwala Cricket Association, Lahore, and Railways (Pakistan) as a right-handed batsmen and leg-break bowler.
He did not exactly set grounds on fire as a cricketer, but he surely set thousands of Indian supporters fuming by raising his finger when the ball had passed Tendulkar’s bat untouched. Dar mistook the noise of the bat hitting the front pad for a snick, plunging an entire country in gloom.
Not a few England supporters were also dismayed at the way Tendulkar was given out. Many England supporters had turned out not only to witness a thrilling finale, but also to see Tendulkar bat in what appeared like his last appearance at the Lord’s.
Dar is no stranger to the pressure cooker atmosphere of one-day internationals. He made his international debut in an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Gujranwala on Feb 16, 2000.
In 2002 he became a member of the Emirates International Panel ICC of umpires. He impressed the ICC with his accurate decision-making, and was chosen to umpire at the ICC Cricket World Cup in early 2003, where he was ranked as one of the better performing umpires.
He was then appointed to stand in his first Test match in October 2003 between Bangladesh and England at Dhaka. Over the next six months he was appointed to stand in several more Test matches, and as the neutral umpire in ODIs away from Pakistan.
In April 2004 he became the first Pakistani to be part of the Emirates ICC Elite Umpire Panel. Since then he has been regarded as one of the top umpires, being nominated for the ICC Umpire of the year Award in 2005 and 2006, although he was beaten on both occasions by the Australian Simon Taufel, who is also very highly regarded.
Dar has stood in numerous high profile matches, including several India-Pakistan ODIs and five Ashes Test matches. He was also one of the on-field umpires for the final of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, standing alongside Rudi Koertzen.
The highlight of his career has been his appointment to stand in the final of the 2007 Cricket World Cup between Australia and Sri Lanka, where he officiated with Steve Bucknor. He has, however, never stood in a Test match in Pakistan, because his appointment in the international panel came after the introduction of neutral umpires for Test matches.
Dar has had a few edgy moments too. These include death threats being made against him and Bucknor during the Test match between England and South Africa at Centurion in January 2005.
Dar was also criticised for two decisions he gave during the England-Australia Test match at Trent Bridge in 2005, giving Damien Martyn out LBW when he had gotten an inside edge on the ball, and then Simon Katich leg before to a delivery which pitched outside leg stump and would have bounced over the stumps.
He was also involved in controversy in the 2007 Cricket World Cup final where he along with fellow officials Bucknor, Koertzen, Bowden and Crowe were unaware of the playing conditions regarding the result of a match under the Duckworth-Lewis system, and made Australia bowl three unnecessary overs in near darkness.
Consequently the ICC decided to suspend him, along with the other four officials, from duty for the next ICC event, which was the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship.
Many in India will see Dar as a villain for wrongly giving Tendulkar and Dravid out, but in ICC circles, he is regarded well for his dedication, professionalism and generall