‘Ravi will go even higher than where he is today’ – VK Ramaswamy
'I have seen a transformational change in Ravi' - Mentor S Radhakrishnan
Only recently, Ravi was inducted
for the fourth straight year on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, a no mean
achievement for the RBI staffer from Madras. Ravi is very proud of his
achievement to be on the Elite Panel “It is a great
experience to be part of the Elite Panel and I have cherished every moment of
it over the last three years. I take lot of pride being on the Elite Panel.”
For a man who for a large part of
the first decade of this century was unsure about his future, this really is a
monumental achievement as he has stamped his class on the international scene alongside international players turned umpires on the Elite Panel. He is unflussed, though, with the presence of cricketer turned umpires “I always try to better my performance and as such I don’t compete with anyone.’
Ravi will scale higher peaks - VK Ramaswamy
Talking from his home in
Hyderabad, 73 year old VK Ramaswamy, who umpired in the first ‘Neutral Umpires’
test match way back in the mid 1980s, expressed happiness at handing over
his long standing record to an outstanding umpire like Ravi “I am so happy for Ravi. He truly deserves this. He is such an outstanding umpire. I watched him
when he began as a BCCI umpire. He was highly skilled and very good even at
that time and I knew that he had it in him to reach the top. I am confident that he will go even higher
than where he is today.”
Former BCCI Umpire S
Radhakrishnan(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/s-ravi-has-it-in-him-to-become-no-1.html?m=1), who mentored Ravi at a crucial phase in the early part of his umpiring career and
who had predicted seven years ago that Ravi would become the World’s best, is
delighted at the transformational change in his mentee.
It was under Radhakrishnan’s Tutelage that Ravi’s level of motivation in umpiring grew in the mid 1990s. While he was a very good umpire, especially on the technical skills front, it was under Radhakrishnan’s guidance that Ravi developed the ambition to become a top umpire. The two of them umpired many matches in that phase and Ravi picked up intricate insights from Radhakrishnan. It was in that period that he became keener than ever to progress in his umpiring career.
It was under Radhakrishnan’s Tutelage that Ravi’s level of motivation in umpiring grew in the mid 1990s. While he was a very good umpire, especially on the technical skills front, it was under Radhakrishnan’s guidance that Ravi developed the ambition to become a top umpire. The two of them umpired many matches in that phase and Ravi picked up intricate insights from Radhakrishnan. It was in that period that he became keener than ever to progress in his umpiring career.
A Transformational Change in Ravi
Radhakrishnan’s joy knew no bounds when Ravi was inducted recently into the Elite Panel for the fourth year in a row ‘From what I saw of him in those early years to what he is now is a transformational change. The poise and equanimity he exhibits on the field is phenomenal. His body language has transformed beyond my imagination. Above all, the respect he seems to command from players is an indication of the growth in his stature as an umpire.’
Radhakrishnan’s joy knew no bounds when Ravi was inducted recently into the Elite Panel for the fourth year in a row ‘From what I saw of him in those early years to what he is now is a transformational change. The poise and equanimity he exhibits on the field is phenomenal. His body language has transformed beyond my imagination. Above all, the respect he seems to command from players is an indication of the growth in his stature as an umpire.’
Radhakrishnan remembers a match
in the first division league in Chennai when Ravi banned a batsman, from SBI, for
the rest of the match for disputing his decision. And there was a match when he refused a substitute for Rahul Dravid when he wanted to go off the field in a local league match “He used to react very strongly to
situations. I told him that strong reactions was not acceptable for umpires and
that open confrontations should be avoided. He had this instinctive quality to
‘react’. Usually the basic quality in a human being is very difficult to overcome but Ravi has mastered it and this quality to ‘react aggressively’ has gone away
completely. That is a stupendous change for a human being. It is this quality to transform that is
taking him miles in his umpiring journey. He sharpened out the rough edges
quite unbelievably much beyond my expectations. And that has made him a
complete umpire,today.”
The
Toughest Series
Ravi
counts the controversial South Africa- Australia series earlier this year as
one of the toughest he has officiated in, over the last 5 years “It was a
very tough series because of the fact that lot of things happened both on and
off the field. And it was a challenging experience to manage.” It was the transformational change that Radha cited that has helped Ravi manage such difficult situations with ease, amidst all the media glare.
His
most memorable Tests
His roller coaster ride in recent years has
included officiating tests at Lords and the MCG as well as the first Pink Ball
Test. Looking back, he says that his first ever test at Lords in May 2015 and
the first pink ball test in 2016 as being the most memorable moments in his
umpiring career.
Radhakrishnan, the mentor has a
case for improvement for his mentee ‘Once in a while, when there is a beautiful swinging ball that beats a
batsman, Ravi shows a mild 'facial expression' immediately after the ball passes the bat. He should work
towards improving that. Knowing him, I am confident that he will master that
one as well.”
Standing between him and the all
time Indian record is Venkataraghavan, considered the best in his time.
However, Ravi is not setting his eyes on that record just yet and says in his typical
humble way “I don't aim to beat Venkat's record, am just taking one match at a time and trying to give my best on the task at hand. I would like to continue
as long as I can and lets see where I end up.”
Ravi's technical skills, body language, handling difficult situations, carrying
himself on the field, the respect he commands from the top players and the
ability to remain calm and unflustered makes him a very special umpire.
Umpiring Tests at Chepauk??
Unfortunately, back here in Madras, fans have not been able to watch him umpire tests at Chepauk for this ground has always been special for interenational cricketers from Tamil Nadu. While saddened by his inability to do tests at home, he is all for neutral umpires in tests “I feel it is better to have neutral umpires in tests.”
There is still a lot of Umpiring left in Ravi, despite the non stop overseas trips he has had to make over the last many years and the long periods of time he has had to be away from home. He began to umpire in the local league in Madras as a teenager way back in the
1980s in order to meet his monthly expenses. For someone who then waited 25 years
for his international debut bearing through some frustrating periods in the
middle, Ravi will not be short on patience. While he is not gunning for the record, it will be no surprise if one day
he goes past Venkataraghavan. And at 52, Ravi has age on his side too.
5 comments:
Enjoyable article. Great to see Indian umpires from Tamil Nadu represented in the Elite Panel, and kudos to S Prabhu for bringing forth these stories
Very nice he deserves every bit of it
ππππ
Super go headπππ
Nice one as ever ��
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