Lucknow’s Tanmay Srivastava to make IPL debut as on-field umpire

LUCKNOW: Former Ranji player from Lucknow, Tanmay Srivastava, is set to make his debut as an on-field umpire in the IPL during the Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals match at Mullanpur on April 28.Srivastava, who made his IPL debut as a player for Punjab Kings in 2008, will return in a new role after 18 years in a match of the same team.He became the first umpire from Uttar Pradesh to officiate an IPL match as an on-field umpire. Last year, he made his IPL debut as a fourth umpire.He has been assigned four matches as an on-field umpire this season: Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals (April 28), Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings (May 5), Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians (May 10), and Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (May 18). He will also serve in several matches as a fourth umpire and TV umpire.A member of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team, Srivastava began his cricket journey in the lanes of Lucknow. He initially played at Chowk and KD Singh Babu Stadium before moving to Green Park Hostel, where he progressed from Under-14 cricket to first-class cricket while representing Kanpur.Srivastava also worked as a scout with RCB and later moved into coaching and cleared the Level 2 coaching examination. He also served as fielding coach of the Jammu & Kashmir Ranji team and was part of the National Cricket Academy set up as batting coach of the Under-16 side.He then turned to umpiring and has been involved in officiating over the past three years. Srivastava, a former India Under-19 captain, played 90 first-class matches and scored 4,918 runs.