Dubai, May 3 (IANS) Umpires Nitin Menon and Jayaraman Madangopal, along with match referee, former India fast-bowler, Javagal Srinath, are included in the 26 match officials appointed for the first round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, starting from June 1 in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies.

Madangopal will be making his senior men’s ICC events as an umpire during the tournament, alongside Sam Nogajski, Allahudien Paleker, Rashid Riaz and Asif Yaqoob. In all, 20 umpires and six match referees will officiate the ninth edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup.

The experienced group of umpires includes Richard Illingworth, the 2023 winner of the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year at the annual ICC Awards, as well as Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney and Paul Reiffel, who were appointed for the final of the 2022 edition at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia, which England won after beating Pakistan.

The match referees’ team sees the return of Ranjan Madugalle, who oversaw the 2022 Final and also features the format’s most capped referee, Jeff Crowe, with 175 T20Is and Andrew Pycroft, who is one match away from 150 T20Is. The tournament will see 20 teams playing 55 matches over 28 days, across nine locations in what the ICC calls it as the biggest ICC T20 World Cup ever.

"We are pleased to announce our team of match referees and umpires for the historic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Within the selected cohort, we have a compliment of experienced match officials and other high performing members who have been recognized for their strong and consistent performances.

"The throughput from the pathway programme will continue to see the development and emergence of high-quality match officials across the game. With 20 teams and 55 matches played over 28 days, this will be the biggest T20 World Cup ever and we are proud of the team we have assembled.

"We are confident that our officials will perform strongly. We wish them all the best of luck for what promises to be a very exciting tournament,” said Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager – Cricket.

The tournament will be held across six venues in the West Indies and three stadiums in USA. In the Caribbean, Kensington Oval in Barbados, Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, Providence Stadium in Guyana, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia and Arnos Vale Stadium, St Vincent will be the hosts’.

In the USA, Eisenhower Park in New York; Broward County in Lauderhill, Florida and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, will be the venues. 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super eight stage. In Super eight, teams will be split into two groups of four each.

Teams seeded first and second in their groups in the first round will retain that seeding in the Super Eight, provided they qualify. A1, B2, C1 and D2 finishers will be in one group, while A2, B1, C2 and D1 will be slotted in the other group. Top two sides from two groups of the Super eight will advance for the semi-finals.

The semi-finals will be held in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago on June 26 and 27 respectively. The final will be held in Barbados on June 29. Reserve days are in place for both semi-finals and the final.

Umpires: Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Allahudien Paleker, Richard Kettleborough, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, Ahsan Raza, Rashid Riaz, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Shahid Saikat, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson and Asif Yaqoob.

Match referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath.