From skies to stumps: the former airline engineer chasing his cricketing dreams

Pritam Narsinghani will officiate in England's county cricket just two years after completing three-decade career in aviation

Dubai-based former airline engineer Pritam Narsinghani has become a certified cricket umpire. Chris Whiteoak / The National

For many, retirement is the ideal opportunity to put your feet up, enjoy time with loved ones, and look back at your life.

But for Pritam Narsinghani, the end of his professional career saw the beginning of a new chapter in his life that would see him pursue his passion of having the best seat in the house to the game he loves.

The 59-year-old Dubai-based former airline engineer is preparing for a summer in England, where he will umpire at Warwickshire County Cricket Club during the upcoming county season.

It comes less than a year after the father of two was certified by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to officiate in professional matches, and two years after he retied from his day job as an airline engineer.

“The chance to be so close to the best cricket stars in the world and interact with them is what really attracts me to umpiring,” said Narsinghani.

Humble beginnings

Born and brought up in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Narsinghani played cricket in school like millions of others his age in the cricket-crazy nation.

After failing to rise to the top level as a player, he pursued a career in aerospace engineering and eventually landed a job maintaining helicopters in Delhi.

In 1989, Narsinghani moved to Dubai where he found work for Cathay Pacific before being hired by Emirates Airline.

During his three-decade career in aviation, he would continue playing inter-airline cricket matches but a dodgy knee kept him on the sidelines.

“That’s when I started exploring the prospect of umpiring,” said Narsinghani.

“For me it was the perfect way to stay involved in cricket without actually playing and making my injuries worse than they already were.”

Over the years, he found that he not only enjoyed umpiring matches, but that he was good at it as well.

Pandemic and realisation

Narsinghani said the decision to go professional was made during the pandemic.

“Covid-19 and everything that came with it gave me the chance to introspect, and I asked myself, “If I don’t go into umpiring now, when will I ever get the chance to learn and follow my passion?”’

After speaking with his family, Narsinghani decided to retire in 2021 as an engineer and begin his journey to become a professional cricket umpire.

“The encouragement and support from my family made all the difference,” said Narsinghani.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing in the beginning. He said the early days of figuring out how to actually go about becoming an umpire were difficult.

The ICC Academy in Dubai did not have a a top-level umpiring programme yet, and enquiries he made to cricket boards like the BCCI also hit dead-ends.

Mentored by Simon Taufel

His breakthrough came later in 2021 when he received a reply on LinkedIn to a message he sent to renowned former Australian umpire Simon Taufel.

“Simon has been more than a mentor to me in this entire process,” said Narsinghani.

“He is a true gentleman and from the onset, he talked to me as if we knew each other for ages. The warmth and encouragement he gave me was phenomenal.”

A few months later the two met in Dubai, where Tauful told Narsinghani that there would be an imminent announcement from the ICC Academy in Dubai about the launch of an umpiring accreditation programme.

Back to school

Narsinghani was one of the first applicants to get accepted into the course, kicking off his formal training to become an umpire.

By August last year, he completed his Level 1 Certification along with the MCC Laws of Cricket course, allowing him to umpire in premier fixtures.

His first assignment was a series of 50-over matches in India between a local side and an Under-19 team from Australia at the Madan Lal Academy in Delhi.

“It’s been nothing short of a dream to live my passion,” Narsinghani said. “The goal going forward is to travel the world and umpire in international matches, something I hope to do by 2025.”

Birmingham-bound

Another LinkedIn conversation led to Narsinghani being invited to Birmingham this summer, where he will umpire during the county season at Warwickshire.

“I know it’ll be a challenge but I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

“I need know all the laws by heart and be very firm in my decisions especially because there will be no action replay or DRS [decision review system].”

Narsinghani said in addition to knowing the rules of the game, having solid communication skills is one of the main qualities of a good umpire.

“Not only do you have to talk to the players before, after and during a match, but you also have to talk to your fellow umpire,” he said.

“You’re on the ground as a team, so if he makes a mistake you need to lift him up.”

Keeping discipline on the field is key as well, said Narsinghani, who said he admires how rugby and football referees go about their business during matches.

India versus Pakistan

Unsurprisingly, Narsinghani said his dream fixture to umpire in is an India-Pakistan clash, calling it a “high pressure challenge that he would relish.”

“My family and friends are waiting for the day they can watch me umpire on the TV – hopefully it’ll be that one,” he said.

With more than a billion pairs of eyeballs tuning in whenever the two rivals meet, Narsinghani will be ready to lend his as well if the opportunity arises.