Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Howzzat! VK still on the mark

V.V. Subrahmanyam

V.K. Ramaswamy

HYDERABAD: No Indian umpire figures in the 2007 World Cup in Caribbean Islands. But, World Cup history did see some of the best umpires from the sub-continent don the roles with ease. And, V.K. Ramaswamy, India's first neutral umpire along with Piloo Reporter (for the Pakistan-West Indies series across the border in 1986), is one of them - having done the job in the 1987 and 1996 editions.

This Hyderabadi too had his tryst with World Cup history. For, he was there on the field when three significant events were scripted - Sri Lanka scoring the then highest 398 for five against Kenya at Kandy, South African Gary Kirsten scoring the highest individual score of 188 not out against UAE and the relatively under-rated Kenyans shocking West Indies in Pune - all in 1996 edition.

Sixtytwo-year-old VK feels that the World Cup is a platform which elevates the ambience of a contest but also sees a sea-change in the behaviour of the players itself. There was a funny incident involving the Hyderabadi. Gary Kirsten queried whether VK knew what was the world record score (then 189 not out by Viv Richards in a Texaco Trophy match). With VK feigning ignorance, Kirsten eventually ended up at 188 not out.

Irreplaceable

"No technology can replace an umpire. It will only ease the pressure on the field umpires even while giving them a chance to evaluate where they exactly stand. Honestly, I feel the field umpires can be more focused now on the job even though the charm is robbed to some extent," says VK. There are no clear favourites in this World Cup, he signs off.

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