BCCI to have re-examination for Level-I Umpires' Test

In the wake of numerous complaints about irregularities in the question paper set for 'Level I Umpires Test', the BCCI has ordered re-examination for the candidates who had appeared on June 10 last year in Indore and Visakhapatnam.

The Level 1 examination was held on different dates in two phases. The first test was conducted in Mumbai and Bangalore for umpires hailing from Mumbai, Karnataka and Vidarbha on June 7 while the candidates from North Zone, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra took the test on June 10 in Indore and Vishakhapatnam.

Interestingly, only one out of 35 candidates passed during the June 10 phase examination, in which the candidates complained that most of the questions were hypothetical in nature.

There was a perception that the question paper set on June 7 was of basic nature with 42 percent candidates clearing the examination.

"Yes, the BCCI has decided to conduct the re-examination of the June 10 candidates. Only 1 candidate passed and we believe that each and every aspirant should get a fair opportunity to pass the exam. Our endeavour is to provide everyone with a level-playing ground," BCCI acting president CK Khanna told PTI today.

One of the complainants was former Madhya Pradesh medium pacer Shantanu Pitre, who appeared for the test in Indore. He wrote about the discrepancies in the question papers set by Vineet Kulkarni -- someone who was removed from the ICC panel for poor performance.

There have been questions raised in BCCI as to why Kulkarni was allowed to set question papers when his performance as an umpire has not been up to the mark.