Mumbai: Piloo Reporter, the first neutral umpire to stand in international cricket along with fellow-Indian VK Ramaswamy, died here on Sunday at the age of 84.
Piloo, who made his debut in the 1984 Delhi Test against England, officiated in 14 Tests and 22 ODIs, including matches in the 1992 World Cup which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
His most cherished moment in a distinguished umpiring career came in November 1986 when he and Ramaswamy officiated on Pakistani soil, in the Lahore Test match between the home team and the West Indies.
They thus became was the first neutral umpires to officiate standing in an international match.
Those were the days when local umpires would perform umpiring duties, leading to several charges of biased officiating by visiting teams.
In order to make it a level playing field, then-Pakistan captain Imran Khan took the initiative to bring over the two Indian umpires as neutrals.
Six years later, ICC followed suit and started with one neutral umpire in Test cricket. A few years later, all international cricket matches were officiated by two on-field neutral umpires.
Piloo’s vigorous and elaborate signalling of a boundary became a signature gesture for players and fans worldwide.
