Indian cricket has been well served by many distinguished umpires who donned the white coat for the sheer love of the game.
A motley group which stood in Test matches till the mid-1990s are now in the 77-97 age- group and according to Mumbai-based 89-year-old Madhav Gothoskar, all of them are looking forward to a raise in the monthly gratis they receive from the BCCI.
Gothoskar, who officiated in 14 Tests between 1973 and 1983 and in one one-day international in 1981, said the monthly gratis started with a sum of ₹5000 in 2004. It was raised to ₹10,000 in 2008, ₹15,000 in 2012 and to ₹22,500 in 2016.
“I understand the BCCI is going to revise the pay structure of cricketers and others. I would urge them to review our lot also. Many of us are very old and faced with increasing medical expenses,” said Gothoskar.
The BCCI has received requisitions from old cricketers (international, domestic and women) and scorers to increase their monthly gratis. Gothoskar believes the umpires should not be left out. He pointed out that many cricketers have been given a one-time retirement benefit and extending the scheme to the umpires would be useful.
A clutch of proposals have been sent to the BCCI’s finance committee, but quarrelling factions in the BCCI, differences of opinion between some office-bearers and Committee of Administrators (CoA) have not helped matters.
Some of the umpires in this group, apart from Gothoskar, are: Kasturi B. Ramaswamy (88, 8 Tests, 1976-83), Dara Dotiwala (84, 6 Tests, 1982-87), A.L. Narasimhan (77, 1 Test, 1994), P. Ram Punjabi (89, 7 Tests, 1978-81), B. Satyaji Rao (88, 17 Tests, 1961-79), Viram Raju (83, 2 tests, 1985-86), R.S. Rathore (79, 2 Tests, 1990-93) and Piloo Reporter (79, 14 Tests, 1984-93).