Umpiring Duo

Meet uncle Arvind Shivale and nephew Hrishikesh Shivale, who have beenofficiating together in PDCA matches for four years now

Suhrid Barua, Pune Mirror, March 21, 2009

It may be a routine affair to see two of them walk out to the wicket,donning the white coat or sometimes with the white shirt. Yes, theyare umpires but they have that not-so-common streak about that.Meet 57-year-old Arvind Shivale and his nephew 27-year-old HrishikeshShivale, who have ensured that umpir-ing is kept alive in the Shivale household.

Uncle Arvind is a vastly experi-enced umpire and is theyounger brother of Hrishikesh’s father Shankar Shivale. And theuncle-nephew combo make an interesting watch every time they officiatein a match.Uncle’s introductionArvind was one of the founding members of the Poona District CricketAssociation (PDCA) and it was the ‘big’ uncle who introduced hisnephew into umpiring, and the family duo has stood in seventy-fivematches in the past four years.Arvind, who has officiated in over 500 matches in last ten years,never imagined that the guy who was teaching the nuances of umpiringwould get an opportunity to officiate together one day.

“I encouragedHrishikesh into umpiring as he was keen to take it up. He’s a quicklearner and keen observer and that held him in good stead. But I neverthought at the time, when he started umpiring, that we would one dayofficiate to-gether, “ says Arvind, who also coaches the Ness WadiaJunior and Senior College teams.

What about competition between them as to who is the best? “As anuncle, I try to help him in whatever way I can and I have never seenofficiating with him as any kind of ‘competition’. He has a longlearning rope ahead of him.”Hrishikesh on his part, says umpiring with his uncle has made him againer in more ways than one. “Every game I officiate with my uncle,is a learning experience for me. I’ve into it (umpiring) for only fouryears and I know very well that I’ve a long way to go. My uncle is astorehouse of umpir-ing knowledge and he’s always there to help meout,” Hrishikesh is effusive in praise of his uncle.

Hrishikesh, who has cleared the PDCA umpires’ test, is itching forthat day when he and his uncle would get the lip-smacking opportunityto offici-ate in a Ranji Trophy. “It’s not going to be easy,”Hrishikesh insists.“Every person has the right to dream and realise that. I hope my uncleand I would get the chance to stand in a Ranji Trophy in the future.I’m keep-ing my fingers crossed,” he wrapped up on a sanguine note.