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Allahudien ‘Pallies’ Paleker will be umpiring at his first ICC T20 World Cup which starts on June 2 in the Caribbean and the United States. FEROZ SHAIK reports.
FORMER Capetonian Allahudien Paleker, now residing in Pretoria, will jet off on Friday, May 24 to officiate in his first senior men’s world cup.
Paleker, who is currently on the ICC international panel of umpires said he is very excited to be part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
‘I am very excited. It hasn’t hit me yet. Once I board the plane then it will start. I travel a week before my first game so my first game is two weeks later. It hasn’t hit me yet but I’ve received lots of messages from friends and family.’
Paleker is one of two umpires from South Africa, the other being Adrian Holdstock that will be part of the umpiring panel for the tournament. While not based at a specific city, he will first be part of an umpires workshop before moving to Dallas where he will be based for nine days. He then travels to Antigua,St Vincent and St Lucia for the group stage matches.
‘It was always a dream of mine to visit the Caribbean and because it is so far, I thought I will get a chance to visit through cricket and now have a chance of going there,’ he added.
Paleker has umpired in two test matches, 16 one-day internationals and 59 T20 internationals. He also officiated at the ICC Under 19 World Cup held in South Africa earlier this year , standing in the final between Australia and India. The 46-year-old has been umpiring for 18 years.
The ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will feature a record number of teams, with 20 different teams represented in a tournament co-hosted by the USA and West Indies starting on June 2 and ending on June 29.
