Indian umpires to English lessons from British Council

In an effort to enhance communication skills in umpires, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be hosting an English language up-skilling course as part of the umpire development program.

The course will be conducted for the first batch of 20 umpires from the July 23, by Richard John Cox who is the trainer from the British Council.

The duration of the course has been slated for a period of ten days and will come to an end on the August1. The course has been designed by the ICC along with the British Council and will be held at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.

BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said, "The BCCI recognises that a command on the English language is needed for umpires to communicate effectively with players of different nationalities. This is important in the overall development of our umpires and will go a long way in ensuring that the players and the umpires will understand each other and build a healthy relationship.