World renowned Pakistani cricket umpire Aleem Sarwar Dar turned 49 on Tuesday.
Born on June 6, 1968 he is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel.
He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar, Marais Erasmus, Richard Kettleborough, Kumar Dharmasena and Simon Taufel were the only umpires to have received the award from its inception until 2016.
Before becoming an umpire, he played first-class cricket for Allied Bank, Gujranwala Cricket Association, Lahore and Pakistan Railways as a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler. Since his retirement as a player, he has gained prominence as one of the leading umpires in international cricket.
He was educated at Islamia College, Civil Lines, Lahore. He has set a world record by officiating a total of 322 matches, making him the most experienced international umpire.
He made his international umpiring debut in an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Gujranwala on February 16, 2000. In 2002 he became a member of ICC’s International Panel of umpires. He was chosen to umpire at the ICC Cricket World Cup in early 2003.
He was appointed to stand in his first Test match in October 2003; the match between Bangladesh and England at Dhaka. Over the next six months he was appointed to stand in several more Test matches, and as a neutral umpire in ODI matches away from Pakistan.
In April 2004, he became the first Pakistani to be part of the ICC Elite Umpire Panel. He was nominated for the ICC Umpire of the year Award in 2005 and 2006, beaten on both occasions by the Australian Simon Taufel.
On 17 October 2007 Dar umpired in his 100th ODI (between India and Australia at Mumbai), making him the tenth umpire in the history of cricket to reach that landmark. He reached the landmark in a record time, taking just seven years, and became the first Pakistani to officiate in a century of One Day Internationals.
Dar has stood in a solitary India-Pakistan ODI match at Karachi 2006 and five Ashes Test matches. He was also one of the on-field umpires for the final of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, standing alongside Rudi Koertzen.
He was appointed to stand in the final of the 2007 Cricket World Cup between Australia and Sri Lanka, where he officiated with Steve Bucknor.
Dar was also selected to stand in the final of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 between Australia and England.
He has never umpired a Test match in Pakistan, because his appointment in the international panel came after the introduction of neutral umpires for Test matches.
Dar proved his accuracy at the 2011 Cricket World Cup when all the 15 Umpire Decision Review System appeals against him were struck down.
On 14 August 2010, the Government of Pakistan honoured him with the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. He was honoured by ICC for officiating in 150 ODIs.
