Aleem Dar gets felicitated for his exemplary career as an ICC Elite Panel Umpire

International Cricket Council (ICC) felicitated Pakistan's Aleem Dar for his exceptional career as an Elite Panel Umpire at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday, April 29. He was felicitated before the second ODI in the five-match ODI series between Pakistan and New Zealand.

ICC officials presented him with a memento that portrayed some of the pictures of him during his professional career. The memento also portrayed the showpiece tournaments that he has officiated in his career.

Sharing the pictures of the felicitation ceremony on Twitter, ICC wrote, "Aleem Dar was felicitated for his exceptional career as an ICC Elite Panel Umpire at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium."

See ICC's Twitter post:

ICC@ICC

Aleem Dar was felicitated for his exceptional career as an ICC Elite Panel Umpire at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium 🙌

06:42 PM · Apr 30, 2023

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Dar, who has officiated 435 men's international matches retired as an ICC elite panel umpire on March 16, 2023. In April, he officiated in his final Test match as an Elite panel umpire, a one-off encounter between Bangladesh and Ireland. At the end of the match, he got a Guard of Honour from both teams, as well as a memento from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Dar was succeeded as an International Cricket Council umpire by fellow countryman Ahsan Raza after announcing his retirement. Dar, 54, has served on the top panel since its inception in 2002, refereeing 144 Test matches, 222 one-day internationals, and 69 T20s. He was named ICC Umpire of the Year three years in a row between 2009 and 2011.

He reflected on his experience as an international umpire after announcing his retirement in March, stating he had enjoyed every minute of it. He went on to say that he has had the pleasure and honor of umpiring all around the world and what he has accomplished is beyond his dreams.

"It has been a long journey, but I have enjoyed every bit of it. I have had the pleasure and honour of umpiring the world over and what I have achieved is something I did not even dream of when I started in the profession. 

"Though I am still keen to continue as an international umpire, I felt it was now the right time, after 19 years on the road to step away from the Elite panel and provide an opportunity to someone from the International Panel. My message to umpires," he had said as quoted by India Today.