BIPIN DANI
India-born scorer Umesh Lagad, now working in the UAE for the last many years and wearing many hats of club cricketer, umpire, and coach was "more than happy" to be part of the Indo-Pak Asia Cup match, which Rohit Sharma-led team won in the last over on Sunday.
The distance between Sharjah and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) is about 50 kilometers, which can be driven within 45 minutes on any normal day but Umesh Lagad, the Manual Official scorer of the Asia Cup was well aware about the road traffic he would have had to face to reach at the venue on Sunday. He had left his house more than six hours before the scheduled commencement of the high voltage Indo-Pak.
"There will be unimaginable road traffic on Sunday. You also please leave earlier", he had advised before the match.
This was the second Indo-Pak. match Lagad was scoring. "I also officiated as a scorer in the T-20I World Cup match between India and Pakistan last year".
Umesh Lagad hails from a small village called Chikhli in Gujarat. "Ramayan-famed Sita (Dipika Chikhaliya) hails from my village", he said proudly.
"Compared to all other matches, this India-Pakistan match is always filled with high drama and tensions. We have to be more cautious and careful while doing duty for this match as one mistake from our side may create a big controversy".
"Focusing on the game and concentrating on umpires' signal was, however, didn't pose much of a problem to me as I have already umpired in the past".
He has been a regular at the IPL and the PSL (Pakistan Super League) matches when played in the UAE.
Being a regular scorer in the box, he gets an opportunity to meet the world's legendary cricketers. "I feel so proud when they come and appreciate my work after the match".
"I can't wait more to work in big matches like this", he signed off.
There are six different scorers-Manual Official scorer, on-line scorer, D/L scorer, Linear scorer, Media scorer and the stadium scoreboard scorer-officiating in the Asia Cup.
