They were Virat Kohli's 'go to' boys 17 summers back when an India U-19 team became the toast of the nation by winning the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Tanmay Srivastava, now 35, and Ajitesh Argal, 37, might not have thought that they would be reunited on a cricket field again in an "international game", albeit as on-field umpires. Argal, a medium pacer, was the player of the final against South Africa in the U-19 World Cup, while left-handed opener Srivastava had scored 262 runs in that tournament.
While Kohli continues to keep himself relevant on the 22 yards with his eyes trained on India's ODI series in Australia, his U-19 World Cup-winning teammates Argal and Srivastava officiated the three India A games versus Australia A in Kanpur.
Srivastava had officiated during the last edition of IPL, and prior to that, he also worked as a talent scout with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Both had passed their BCCI Umpiring Exam in 2023 and have already officiated in Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the Australia A series is their biggest assignment so far.
Argal didn't have a great senior-level career, with only 10 first-class games. Srivastava, though, was a regular member of a very strong Uttar Pradesh team for close to a decade, playing 90 first-class games, although he was never close to an India cap.
The level of domestic umpires hasn't exactly been great over the year,s with only Nitin Menon being a part of the ICC's Elite Panel of umpires.
Although these are nascent days, both Argal and Srivastava would hope to perform consistently with an aim to first make it to the ICC Emirates Panel and then the Elite Panel.
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