T20 WC: Illingworth, Dharmasena to officiate in India-Pakistan face-off

Richard Illingworth and Kumar Dharmasena will be the on-field umpires for the high-profile India-Pakistan clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Colombo on February 15.

Dharmasena, a former Sri Lanka off-spinner and a member of the country’s 1996 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup-winning team, is among the most experienced officials in the tournament. He has officiated in 37 matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the finals in 2016 and 2022, placing him fourth on the all-time list.

Advertisement

Illingworth, who stood in the middle during the 2024 T20 World Cup final, continues to be a prominent presence in the tournament. He will also team up with Chris Gaffaney for the Group B match between Australia and Ireland on February 11.

The complete list of match-day officials for the group stage of the 20-team tournament was announced on Friday, with appointments for the Super Eight and knockout stages to be confirmed later.

Earlier in the competition, Dharmasena will officiate in the opening match of the tournament between Pakistan and the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground on February 7, alongside New Zealander Wayne Knights. Knights will be making his ICC Men’s T20 World Cup debut in that match, which will also mark his 50th T20 International as an on-field umpire.

Elsewhere on the opening day, Nitin Menon and Sam Nogajski will be in the middle for the Group C encounter between Scotland and the West Indies. Menon was part of the on-field umpiring team for the first semi-final of the 2024 World Cup between Afghanistan and South Africa, while Nogajski officiated in four group-stage matches at the previous edition, including India’s fixture against the United States.

India and the USA will meet again later in the day, rounding off a triple-header on February 7, with Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker appointed as the on-field umpires for that match.

Tucker, who leads the list for matches officiated at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with 46 appearances, is set to bring up his half-century during this edition. The Australian will also officiate in the matches between England and Nepal, India and Namibia, and South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

In total, 24 officials will serve as on-field umpires during the group stage, with Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Langton Rusere and Adrian Holdstock among the other experienced returnees.

Match Officials at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Match Referees: Dean Cosker, David Gilbert, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath

Umpires: Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri and Asif Yaqoob.