K N Ananthapadmanabhan is set to officiate in his first international men's match as on-field umpire in the opening Twenty20 International between India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad later tonight.
Ananthan will become the fourth international umpire from Kerala after Jose Kurishinklal, Dr K N Raghavan and S Dendapani.
The former Kerala captain is the first Kerala umpire to make it to the ICC international panel. He has officiated in all major domestic events, including the IPL.
Ananthan is also the only Keralite to have played more than 100 first-class matches (105). The leg-spinner was unlucky not to have played for India.
The 51-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram was part of the national junior selection committee in 2005-06 season along with Pravin Amre, Sanjeev Sharma, Kamal Das and Sanjeev Rao.
Ananthan is also a qualified Level II Coach from the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.