The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires is a panel of cricket umpires appointed by the International Cricket Council to officiate in Test matches and One Day Internationals around the world. The panel was first established in April 2002 when the ICC decided to reform the way that international cricket was umpired. The main change was that both umpires in a Test match and one of the umpires in a One Day International were now independent of the competing nations, whereas before 2002 just one of the umpires in a Test was independent and in ODIs both umpires were from the home nation. The majority of these ICC appointments are fulfilled by the members of the Elite Panel, who are generally thought to be the best umpires in the world. As such the ICC hopes to ensure that umpiring standards are as high as possible. Members of the panel stand in around 10 Tests and 15 ODIs each year. The list of umpires in the panel is revised every year by the ICC Umpires Selection Panel.

History

The panel was formed in 2002 with eight members. Peter Willey was invited to be on the panel, but declined the opportunity because it would have required him to spend too much time away from his family. The last members of the original panel retired in 2011. The original eight panel members were: Steve Bucknor, Daryl Harper, Ashoka de Silva, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Rudi Koertzen, Dave Orchard, David Shepherd and Russell Tiffin.

Members of the International Panel of ICC Umpires stand in ODIs in their home countries, and may be appointed by the ICC to Tests and ODIs as an independent officials at busy times in the cricket calendar to supplement the Elite Panel.

In July 2019, Michael Gough and Joel Wilson were added to the Elite panel following the retirement of Ian Gould and exclusion of Sundaram Ravi after the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 16 March 2023, Ahsan Raza and Adrian Holdstock joined the panel after Aleem Dar stepped down from the panel.

In March 2024, Sharfuddoula was added to the Elite Panel after South African umpire Marais Erasmus retired from umpiring in international cricket and thus Sharfuddoula became the first umpire from Bangladesh to be included in this panel.

In March 2025, Alex Wharf and Allahudien Paleker were added to the Elite Panel, after Michael Gough and Joel Wilson were dropped from the panel.

, Australia and England have jointly provided the most panel members with seven. South Africa have provided five; India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and West Indies have provided three; Sri Lanka has provided two; Zimbabwe and Bangladesh has provided just one member. No members have featured from Afghanistan and Ireland, among the full members.

Current members

<!--Don't change the order. New additions based on year appointed-->

cricket season, the Elite Panel consists of:

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|+ List of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires

|-

! scope="col" style="width:140px" | Umpire

! scope="col" style="width:110px" | Date of Birth

! scope="col" style="width:110px" | Age as of

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | Year Appointed

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | Tests

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | ODIs

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | T20Is

! scope="col" style="width:110px" | Country

|-

! scope="row" |

| 28 August 1964 || || 2010 || 99 || 110 || 66 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

| 24 April 1971 || || 2011 || 95 || 141 || 52 || Sri Lanka

|-

! scope="row" |

| 15 March 1973 || || 2011 || 96 || 113 || 46 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

| 23 August 1963 || || 2013 || 82 || 107 || 43 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

| 19 April 1966 || || 2013 || 78 || 98 || 38 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

| 30 November 1975|| || 2015 || 67 || 92 || 57 || New Zealand

|-

! scope="row" |

| 2 November 1983 || || 2020 || 35 || 64 || 58 || India

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 29 May 1974 || || 2023 || 26 || 62 || 91 || Pakistan

|-

! scope="row" |

| 27 April 1970 || || 2023 || 21 || 66 || 60 || South Africa

|-

! scope="row" | Sharfuddoula

| 16 October 1976 || || 2024 || 20 || 72 || 58 || Bangladesh

|-

! scope="row" |

| 4 June 1975 || || 2025 || 15 || 36 || 52 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

| 1 January 1978 || || 2025 || 9 || 30 || 73 || South Africa

|-

|}

Former members

The first departures from the panel came in 2004 when Srinivas Venkataraghavan (known as Venkat) retired, and Asoka de Silva, Dave Orchard and Russell Tiffin did not have their contracts renewed. David Shepherd retired in 2005 following 22 years as an international umpire. Darrell Hair, who joined the panel in 2003, was banned from officiating in matches involving full ICC members following the ball tampering controversy in August 2006. In March 2008, following a spell officiating associate members, Hair was once again permitted to umpire full members, but in August he handed in his resignation after he was only allowed to officiate in two Tests.

Steve Bucknor retired in 2009, having stood in a then record 128 Tests since March 1989. Rudi Koertzen retired in 2010, while Mark Benson, who had joined the panel in 2006, stood down to return to domestic cricket. Asoka de Silva, who rejoined the panel in 2008, was stood down again in 2011 along with Daryl Harper, Simon Taufel and Billy Doctrove retired in 2012 and Steve Davis retired in 2015. Sundaram Ravi was dropped from the panel after 2019 Cricket World Cup. Ian Gould retired from the panel after the 2019 World Cup. Bruce Oxenford retired from the panel in 2021.

Former elite panel members can still umpire in ODIs and international T20s. Statistics correct as of 31 January 2021.

  • Original panel member

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|+ List of Former members of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires

|-

! scope="col" style="width:225px" | Umpire

! scope="col" style="width:120px" | Date of Birth

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | Joined Panel

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | Left Panel

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | Tests

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | ODIs

! scope="col" style="width:40px" | T20Is

! scope="col" style="width:160px" | Country

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 24 June 1948 || 2002 || 2004 || 44 || 107 || – || South Africa

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 4 June 1959 || 2002 || 2004 || 44 || 126 || 4 || Zimbabwe

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 21 April 1945 || 2002 || 2004 || 73 || 52 || – || India

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 27 December 1940 || 2002 || 2005 || 92 || 172 || – || England

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 30 September 1952 || 2003 || 2008 || 78 || 135 || 6 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 31 May 1946 || 2002 || 2009 || 128 || 182 || – || West Indies

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 6 July 1958 || 2006 || 2010 || 27 || 72 || 19 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 26 March 1949 || 2002 || 2010 || 108 || 206 || 14 || South Africa

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 28 March 1956 || 2002 || 2011 || 49 || 122 || 11 || Sri Lanka

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 23 October 1951 || 2002 || 2011 || 94 || 174 || 10 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

|| 3 July 1955 || 2006 || 2012 || 38 || 112 || 17 || West Indies

|-

! scope="row" |

| 21 January 1971 || 2003 || 2012 || 74 || 174 || 34 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

| 12 May 1956 || 2006 || 2013 || 49 || 98 || 23 || Pakistan

|-

! scope="row" |

| 26 June 1951 || 2009 || 2014 || 40 || 97 || 17 || New Zealand

|-

! scope="row" |

|11 April 1967 || 2003 || 2015 || 84 || 200 || 24 || New Zealand

|-

! scope="row" |

| 9 April 1952 || 2008 || 2015 || 57 || 137 || 26 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

| 19 August 1957 || 2009 || 2019 || 74 || 141 || 37 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

| 22 April 1966 || 2015 || 2019 || 33 || 48 || 18 || India

|-

! scope="row" |

| 11 February 1969 || 2012 || 2020 || 62 || 130 || 32 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

| 5 March 1960 || 2012 || 2021 || 62 || 97 || 20 || Australia

|-

! scope="row" |

| 6 June 1968 || 2004 || 2023|| 145 || 231 || 72 || Pakistan

|-

! scope="row" |

| 27 February 1964 || 2010 || 2024 || 82 || 124 || 43 || South Africa

|-

! scope="row" |

| 18 December 1979 || 2019 || 2025 || 42 || 92 || 28 || England

|-

! scope="row" |

| 30 December 1966 || 2019 || 2025 || 47 || 98 || 50 || West Indies

|}

Records

Test matches

Most Test matches as an umpire:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Umpire !! Period !! Matches !! TV Umpire !! Total

|-

| Aleem Dar || 2000–2023 || 145 || 27 || 172

|-

| Steve Bucknor || 1989–2009 || 128 || 2 || 130

|-

| Rudi Koertzen || 1992–2010 || 108 || 20 || 128

|-

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| Rod Tucker || 2006–present || 98 || 42 || 140

|-

| Daryl Harper || 1996–2011 || 95 || 9 || 104

|-

| colspan=8| <small>Last updated: 6 February 2026</small>

|}

ODI matches

Most ODI matches as an umpire:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Umpire !! Period !! Matches !! TV Umpire !! Total

|-

| Aleem Dar || 2003–2023 || 231 || 68 || 299

|-

| Rudi Koertzen || 1992–2010 || 209 || 41 || 250

|-

| Billy Bowden || 1995–2016 || 200 || 59 || 259

|-

| Steve Bucknor || 1989–2009 || 181 || 26 || 207

|-

| Daryl Harper || 1994–2011 || 174 || 45 || 219

|-

| colspan=8| <small>Last updated: 6 February 2026</small>

|}

T20I matches

Most T20I matches as an umpire:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

!Umpire!! Period !! Matches !! TV Umpire !! Total

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| Viswanadan Kalidas || 2019–present || 100 || 12 || 112

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| Ahsan Raza || 2010–present || 87 || 29 || 116

|- style="background:#cfc;"

|| Langton Rusere || 2015–present || 82 || 27 || 109

|- style="background:#cfc;"

|| Buddhi Pradhan || 2012–present || 76 || 4 || 80

|-

| Aleem Dar || 2009–2024 || 72 || 19 || 91

|-

| colspan=8| <small>Last updated: 6 February 2026</small>

|}

See also

  • Elite Panel of ICC Referees
  • International Panel of ICC Umpires
  • List of Test umpires
  • Development Panel of ICC Umpires

References

  • ICC match officials