Umpire S Ravi End of the Road

In the Golden Period between 2015 and 18, Ravi officiated at Lords, the Boxing Day Test at MCG, the Ashes and the first ever Pink Ball Test

He also figured in the ill fated SA v Aus series that led to the banning of Aussie players

Nitin Menon's induction into the Elite Panel could spell the end of Ravi's International career as Umpire

It is 33 years since I first saw Umpire S Ravi at the Somasundaram Ground in T. Nagar discussing, as a young 21 year old, the day’s play in the first division league where he played for RBI. He had become an umpire a couple of years earlier as a route to making some pocket money. Umpires in the TNCA were paid around Rs. 100 in those days (well over three decades later, they are paid just over a 1000!!!- talk of rich cricket associations in India!!) but it was that fee that helped Ravi in those early years of his life when he got into umpiring as a teenager.

As I look back, it has been a richly fulfilling career for the former RBI staffer, who persevered relentlessly for over two decades in the local league and on the domestic circuit before he made his international debut. And then for 5 years it was all rosy as he peaked in the 2nd half of the decade gone by. However, the announcement last month leaving him out of the Elite Panel possibly marks the end of the road for Ravi as an international umpire. Here is a look back on his career.

June - July is the period in the year when the ICC announces the list of Elite Panel Umpires. The appointment of India’s Nitin Menon into the Elite Panel for the 2020-21 season sounds death knell for former Elite Panel Umpire S Ravi and may be the final nail in the coffin as far as his dream of a re-emergence into the Elite Panel is concerned. Not so long ago he was on a high. He was on the Elite Panel for four years in a row from the English summer of 2015, seemingly growing from Strength to Strength. Two years ago, this week, he became the 2nd most capped umpire from India behind the legendary S Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html).

The under rated Ravi entered the international arena in 2013 after having struggled for 25 years in the TNCA league and on the domestic circuit. He was the first umpire and has been the only one to date from Tamil Nadu after Venkataraghavan in the Elite Panel and progressed beyond anyone’s imagination to become one of the best and most respected umpires in the World.

2015 - Into the Elite Panel

In the English summer of 2015, one in which he made his Lords debut, Ravi experienced something special that very few others have. In the two test series between New Zealand and England, Ravi was involved in over 20 (third umpire) reviews over the two tests with his umpiring partners at the other end having a combined tally of just 2. With a majority of the reviews going in his favour, it set him up nicely ahead of the annual selection review of ICC umpires. Before the end of that English summer, he had been inducted into the Elite Panel and had also officiated in his first Ashes series.

2016 - Best Season in Cricket

The next year, 2016, was one of Ravi’s best in Umpiring. In a single season, he officiated in 15 tests including in the first ever Pink Ball test. He seemed to be there in every high profile series that season.

2017- Inducted into the MCC Laws Sub Committee Panel

End of 2017, shortly before he was to officiate in another Ashes series, Ravi was inducted into the MCC Laws Sub Committee Panel that meets periodically to review the Laws of Cricket. It was that year when MCC introduced the new Code of Laws, the first of its kind since the 2000 Code. The Sub- Committee was appointed to oversee this code for three years. In fact, earlier this summer, this section brought to light the differences between the MCC and the ICC in relation to a point on the interpretation of the deliberate padding law (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/leg-byes-deliberate-padding-law_14.html).

Early 2018 – The Ill Fated SA vs Australia series

Ravi officiated in the ill fated series in South Africa in early 2018 which later led to the banning of Top Australian players for a year. He had told this writer earlier that it was one of the most challenging ones in his umpiring career because of the fact that a ‘lot of things’ happened both on and off the field. And it was a unique experience for him to manage. It was on the tip off of the umpires from the first two tests (that Ravi umpired) that the Aussies were finally caught on camera later in the series.

The ‘Turning’ Nightmare in November

In the three years leading up to the winter of 2018, life had gone on extremely smoothly for Ravi as an umpire. It clearly was a golden period for him, from officiating in the first Pink Ball Test, to multiple Ashes series and shuttling between the long room at Lords and the Boxing Day test at the MCG to being among the select few in the World who review the laws of cricket. He simply was on a roll and on course towards half a century of tests.

And then, the nightmare of a series in Sri Lanka!! It was November of 2018. Ravi made a trip to umpire the three match test series between Sri Lanka and England. The entire series was played on square turners, the last series of Rangana Herath, with the English spinners on top. Mooen Ali, Leach and Rashid tormented not just the opposition batsmen but also the Umpires. Through the entire series, Ravi was confronted repeatedly with 50-50 calls – LBWs, catches at short leg and by the keeper – the appeals were unrelenting. Jennings, who is now out of the England squad, was on a record catching spree at short leg. If the LBW was negated, the players turned to the umpires for the catch at short leg. It was the kind of ‘appealing’ pressure that he had not previously encountered in his career. 

Ravi did make mistakes and a number of them but given the almost impossible conditions for umpires with a decision coming into play almost every other ball he actually did reasonably well, despite the errors. The Englishmen who won the series 3-0 understood the enormity of the challenge and appreciated his decision making. Captain Joe Root said after the series that given the unplayable pitches that the matches were played on, Ravi withstood the pressure well and did a fair job of what was expected of him under the circumstances.

His only ‘Home’ Test Match

In the following months, he went to South Africa probably for his final overseas Test Series end of 2018 and early last year. A couple of months later, in March last year, he finally officiated a test in India, the only time he has done that when he got on to the field in Dehdradun for the one off test between Ireland and Afghanistan.

And soon after came the news of his axing from the Elite Panel after being on top for four successive years. The big negative points from the Sri Lanka series probably went against him in terms of the number of points. But really, can a world class umpire be discarded after just a couple of bad series!! There is more to it than meets the eye. Dharmasena, with a lot more umpiring errors in that period, Joe Wilson who went through horror phase in last year’s ashes and many others over the last decade have been given a much longer rope. But not so Ravi!!! His four years on the Elite Panel came to nought following the series in Lanka. Sanjay Manjrekar from India was on the Review Committee in mid 2019 that decided against the inclusion of Ravi in the Elite Panel last year (2019-20). India was without an Umpire on the Elite Panel last year.

He continued to officiate in the IPL last year and then through the entire domestic season in 2019-20 almost umpiring every single round of Ranji Trophy.

Interestingly, in a conversation with this writer a few years ago, Ravi had pointed at Nitin Menon being the next umpire from India into the Elite Panel. With BCCI nominating Nitin Menon as its candidate, an indication that they are looking ahead to the nextgen and him subsequently being inducted into the Elite Panel as the youngest at 36, it looks like being the end of the road for Ravi. Aged 54 and having officiated for 6 years at the highest level, it is unlikely that this down to earth umpire from Madras will be able to make his way back into the Elite Panel again.

Time will tell as to why he suddenly went out of favour after just one bad series.

Hailing from a middle class family, Ravi has been a role model in perseverance showcasing how long term commitment in life finally yields results. Through the 1990s and 2000s, the opportunities were so limited in domestic cricket that making it to the international arena seemed a distant dream. But he stayed the course and finally made it to the Tests in 2013. He went through a Golden Period of five years till that nightmarish month in Sri Lanka end of 2018. Over 30 Tests and close to 50 one day internationals are numbers not many Indian Umpires can boast of. For a long time, it is likely he will remain India’s second most capped Test umpire and that’s a significant achievement for the man who took to umpiring as a teenager just to meet his monthly expenses.