BCCI ties up with British Council for English language upskilling course for Indian umpires

NEW DELHI: In an effort to enhance communication skills of Indian umpires, the Indian cricket board has tied up with the British Council for an English language upskilling course as part of its umpire development programme.

The course will be conducted for the first batch of 20 umpires by a trainer from the British Council from July 23. The course will run for a duration of ten days.

The course has been designed by the ICC along with the British Council and will be held at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Richard John Cox will be the trainer at the workshop.

"The BCCI recognises that a command on the English language is needed for umpires to communicate effectively with players of different nationalities. This is important in the overall development of our umpires and will go a long way in ensuring that the players and the umpires will understand each other and build a healthy relationship," said Anurag Thakur, secretary, BCCI.

"Mr. S. Ravi’s induction in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Elite Panel of Umpires has encouraged us to expand our talent pool. This will not only help the umpires in brushing up their communication skills but will augur well to reach a common understanding in all aspects. There will be an initial assessment of each of the participant before the course starts and another one at the end of the year to measure the success of the programme," he added.