You had people with machine guns guarding you: Simon Taufel recalls officiating in India-Pakistan matches

Simon Taufel is widely regarded as one of the best umpires in world cricket. The Australian bid goodbye to international umpiring in 2012 after having won the ICC Umpire of the Year award as many as five times. He was a favourite among players and, thus, many garnered rich praise for him for his outstanding judgments on the 22-yard cricket strip.

Recently, Taufel recalled his time while officiating in India-Pakistan matches at the highest level. The ex-umpire claimed that“presidential-level security” used to be in place during the matches between the two Asian giants.

"The India-Pakistan clashes came with added scrutiny and expectations because the game is being analyzed by all the armchair experts," Taufel was quoted as saying. "You had people with machine guns guarding you and presidential-level security was assigned to the teams. You have to remain grounded as I tried my level best to focus on the task ahead and take things one ball at a time,"he further opined.

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While Taufel admitted to missing the excitement of officiating in high-voltage games, he was quick to point out how he feels blessed to be spending more time with his family."I miss being part of the excitement of international cricket, but I don’t miss the travel and time away from family. I certainly don’t miss the scrutiny. It is now time to help the new generation and I am loving every bit of that,” he added.

Talking about Indo-Pak clashes at the international level, it only takes place during multi-nation or ICC events. The senior men's cricket teams from India and Pakistan last locked horns with each other during the last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE.