Who is Sharfuddoula Saikat? All you need to know about third umpire who adjudicated Yashasvi Jaiswal's debatable decision

The third umpire of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sharfuddoula Saikat, caused a stir with his decision-making on Day 5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The 48-year-old Bangladeshi third umpire made a debatable decision as India's opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was given out caught behind despite there being no spike on the snickometer.

At that stage, the Indian team still had a chance to draw the match with Jaiswal at the crease. The Indian batter was given not out by on-field umpire Joel Wilson and the Australians chose to review straightaway. While there was no spike detected by the snickometer Saikat noticed a deflection and overruled the decision which saw the back of Jaiswal and the dashing of India’s hopes of saving the Test match.

Saikat started his journey as a player and was more than a capable left-arm spinner. He also played three matches for Bangladesh during the 1994 ICC Trophy which was a tournament to ensure qualification for the World Cup. The Dhaka-born had some decent performances during this tournament, picking up six wickets at an average of 18.66 and an economy of 4.17. Apart from this, he had a short but decent first-class record as well with 31 wickets from 10 matches averaging 23, and having two five-wicket hauls to his name.

Also Read: 'This is an optical illusion'- Gavaskar disagrees with third umpire's decision to give Yashasvi Jaiswal out

Though Saikat could not play more international games he turned his attention to umpiring. He has officiated in both Men's and Women’s international games. Saikat has umpired in 15 Tests, 63 ODIs, 52 T20Is, 13 WODIs, and 28 WT20Is as an on-field umpire and was part of the 2023 Women's U-19 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup, too.

Saikat replaced legendary South African umpire Marais Erasmus to become the first Bangladeshi umpire to become a part of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.

Saikat also has an MBA degree in Human Resource Management from American University-Bangladesh.