BD’s Saikat, Gazi Sohel to officiate at T20 WC

Sports Reporter :

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially unveiled match officials for group stages of 2026 T20 World Cup (WC), scheduled to begin on February 7. 24 umpires have been selected for the global event, with 6 match referees.
Two Bangladeshi umpires Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and Gazi Sohel named in the ICC panel to officiate matches in group stages of T20 World Cup 2026.
The inclusion of two umpires comes after their country’s ouster from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. BCB and the Bangladesh government cited security risks and held firm on not travelling to India for the tournament. ICC pulled the plug, replacing Bangladesh with Scotland for the competition.
Bangladesh’s Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat was in India recently, standing as umpire in the IND vs NZ ODI series. He is the first umpire from Bangladesh to make it to the elite panel. The current elite panel only has 12 umpires, including Sharfuddoula.
Gazi meanwhile is part of the ICC umpiring panel. He was among the officials during the Asia Cup 2025. Gazi officiated the high profile India vs Pakistan match, even breaking a fight between Shaheen Afridi and Abhishek Sharma in the Super 4s stage. Match referee Andy Pycroft, who was forced to explain his stand in the handshake controversy, is also part of the match officials list for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.