Saikat, the first Bangladeshi in ICC Elite Panel of umpires

Bangladeshi umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat has made history by becoming part of the Elite Panel of umpires as the first Bangladeshi. Today, this information has been confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Through a selection process, Saikat has been elevated from the Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires to the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Umpires. The selectors included ICC's General Manager (Cricket) Wasim Khan (Chairman), former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, retired New Zealand umpire Tony Hill, and the Consultant Officiating Expert Mike Riley.

Since 2006, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat has been serving as an umpire in ICC's International Panel. His first international appointment was in January 2010 for an ODI match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Mirpur.

Saikat has officiated in 10 Tests, 63 ODIs, and 44 T20I matches for men, and 13 ODIs and 28 T20I matches for women.

He served as an umpire in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 2017 and 2021, and also officiated in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2018 alongside the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023.

Match referees in ICC's Elite Panel include David Boon (Australia), Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka), Andrew Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Richie Richardson (West Indies), and Javagal Srinath (India).

Umpires in ICC's Elite Panel include Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Christopher Gaffaney (New Zealand), Michael Gough (England), Adrian Holdstock (South Africa), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Nitin Menon (India), Ahsan Raza (Pakistan), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat (Bangladesh), Rod Tucker (Australia), Joel Wilson (West Indies).