Umpire Simon Taufel says Virender Sehwag rejected umpiring proposition a few years ago – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag and former umpire Simon Taufel are doing the rounds on the internet over a proposed umpiring future that Sehwag rejected.

To put things into perspective, 51-year-old Taufel reminisced that Sehwag used to put forth his verdict regarding crucial umpiring decisions while on the field. An impressed Taufel thus broached the question with Sehwag a few years ago regarding whether the former Indian batter would like to take up umpiring.

File photo of former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag (left) with retired umpire Simon Taufel. AFP

“I remember putting it on his head a few years ago and I’m challenging Virender to take it up because he is used to umpire next to me standing at square leg and telling me what was out what not was out. But he subsequently said no, that’s not what he wants to do,” Taufel told News9.

Taufel is one of the umpiring greats with five ICC Umpire of the Year awards under his belt, which he won between 2004 and 2008. He is also highly ranked as an umpire and shared good camaraderie with the cricketers both on and off the field.

Taufel stepped down from the ICC’s elite panel in 2012 after the T20 World Cup.

Apart from Sehwag, Taufel also professed that he would like to see Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin take up umpiring roles.

“You have really got to have a personality and desire to want to do it. I’ve spoken to some players like Morne Morkel who’s been interested in taking up umpiring but as I said before, it’s not for everyone. I’d love to see Virender Sehwag, maybe even Virat Kohli or Ravichandran Ashwin take it up. They seem to be very well on top of the laws and playing conditions of the game at the moment,” Taufel added.

Taufel also opened up about his experience of umpiring in a dry and arid locale like Karachi.

“It’s never boring, except when you might be umpiring in a very dry environment in Karachi or similar places. There’s not much happening in terms of wickets. But what I would say is that we’ve tried to make the course engaging and umpiring itself is not for everyone. You know, it is challenging. People say how do you concentrate for long periods of time? And the answer is, well, you don’t, you just look at bite-sized pieces. It’s very rewarding,” he said.

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