RateTheRef

MY PREDICTION for the Semi-Finals:

1st Semi-Final: SA vs NZ
Referee - 🤔🤔🤔
On-Field - Illingworth and Reiffel
TV Ump - Nitin Menon
Reserve - Alex Wharf

2nd Semi-Final: IND vs ENG
Referee - Richie Richardson
On-Field - Gaffaney and Tucker
TV Ump - Adrian Holdstock
Reserve - Paleker

So, the 4 Umpires who misses out in my Predictions are Ahsan Raza, Saikat, Dharmasena and Kettleborough.

        MATCH OFFICIALS for SEMI-FINALS
          ICC MEN'S U19 WORLD CUP 2026

                              Semi-Final 1
                  AUSTRALIA vs ENGLAND
Venue - BULAWAYO
Match Referee:
        Prakash Bhatt [IND]
On-Field Umpires:
        Zahid Bassarath [WI],
        Virender Sharma [IND]
TV Umpire:
        Lubabalo Gcuma [SA]
Fourth Umpire:
        Prageeth Rambukwella [SL]

                              Semi-Final 2
                   INDIA vs AFGHANISTAN
Venue - HARARE
Match Referee:
        Graeme La Brooy [SL]
On-Field Umpires:
        Shaun Haig [NZ],
        Russell Warren [ENG]
TV Umpire:
        Shawn Craig [AUS]
Fourth Umpire:
        Masudur Rahman Mukul [BAN]
                       

Very happy for many Umpires who has given chances to officiate in this World Cup. At the same time , it's disappointed that Ahmad Shah Pakteen (AFG) has not been selected despite a pool of 24 Umpires.

                              PAK vs AUS
                                  3 T20Is
Venue: Lahore
Match Referee: Ali Naqvi

1st T20I:
   On-Field Umpires:
           Ahsan Raza
           Asif Yaqoob
   TV Umpire:
           Nasir Hussain
    Fourth Umpire:
           Rashid Riaz

2nd T20I:
   On-Field Umpires:
           Ahsan Raza
           Rashid Riaz
    TV Umpire:
           Asif Yaqoob
     Fourth Umpire:
           Nasir Hussain

3rd T20I:
     On-Field Umpires:
             Rashid Riaz
             Nasir Hussain
     TV Umpire:
              Tariq Rasheed
      Fourth Umpire:
              Zulfiqar Jan

Under the Umpires' Exchange Programme between NZC and SLC, SriLankan Umpire Chamara De Zoysa will officiate 2 games in the Plunket Shield (New Zealand's Domestic FC cricket). His officiating matches will be in Auckland and Napier respectively.

                              THE FINAL
  Perth Scorchers vs (Winner of the Challenger)

Venue: Perth Optus Stadium
Match Referee:
         David Gilbert
On-Field Umpires:
         Sam Nogajski
         Donovan Koch
TV Umpire:
         Philip Gillespie
Fourth Umpire:
         Gerard Abood

For what reason do you predict this, Dhanush?

I have analysed this last year Sir.
Last year, Champions Trophy took place. The Host was Pakistan. India played their games in Dubai. Just before the Champions Trophy, PAK-SA-NZ Tri-Nation ODI series took place in Pakistan (Preparatory series). For that series, Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough were the neutral umpires & David Boon was the Match Referee. For Champions Trophy, Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough have officiated 80% of their matches in Dubai. Also, David Boon was the Match Referee for all India's fixtures (Dubai).
Same pattern has been followed in Women's World Cup also. The Host was India. Pakistan Women's team played their games in Sri Lanka. Just before the Women's World Cup, 2 series took place as a Preparatory series. One was IND-W vs AUS-W (3 ODI series) in India & the other one was PAK-W vs SA-W (3 ODI series) in Pakistan. Lauren Agenbag was the neutral umpire and GS Lakshmi was the Match Referee for IND-W vs AUS-W series & Claire Polosak was the neutral umpire for PAK-W vs SA-W series. For Women's World Cup, Lauren Agenbag headed towards Sri Lanka and she has officiated the first half of the tournament in SL and GS Lakshmi has officiated only SL VENUE games. Same way, Claire Polosak has officiated 80% of her games in India (Importantly, her first half of the tournament in India).
So, I have applied the same pattern for this T20I World Cup. As per this pattern, Richard Illingworth and Saikat will officiate their majority of games in SL and the two neutral Umpires who will be in SL vs ENG ODI series will get to officiate their majority of games in India. Let's see guys
And My Guess is Nitin Menon will be one of the officials who will officiate SL vs ENG - ODI series.

Umpires for Women's Premier League 2026 (TATA WPL 2026):
     1. Vrinda Rathi
     2. N Janani
     3. Gayathri Venugopalan
     4. Ankita Guha
     5. Bhavesh Patel
     6. Kaushik Gandhi
     7. Keyur Kelkar
     8. Anish Sahasrabudhe
     9. Ajitesh Argal
   10. Tony Emmatty