ICC has announced the match officials for the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 between India and New Zealand. England’s Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf will be the field umpires in the title match. Allahuddin Palekar will play the role of third umpire. Adrian Holdstock will take over as the fourth umpire. Andy Pycroft has been appointed match referee. ICC has not named Richard Kettleborough among the match officials for the final. Kettleborough has been proving unlucky for India in big matches.
Be it the heart-breaking defeat in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup or the humiliating defeat by Pakistan in the title match of the 2017 Champions Trophy… there are many such big matches in which Kettleborough was the umpire and Team India had to face defeat. Kettleborough was in the role of umpire during India’s defeat against South Africa in the Super-8 stage of the same T20 World Cup.
Illingworth will officiate in his second consecutive T20 World Cup final. Earlier, he had umpired in the final in 2024 along with Chris Gaffney. Defending champions India and New Zealand will face each other for the trophy in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Last year also these two teams had met in the final of the Champions Trophy, in which also Illingworth had umpired.
This time Illingworth is accompanied by his compatriot Wharf, who will be a match official in the senior ICC World Cup final for the first time. Wharf has previously umpired in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2022 and 2023 ODI World Cup. He had joined the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC umpires only last year. Both of them were also present during New Zealand’s victory over South Africa in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
Allahuddin Palekar and Adrian Holdstock, who will be seen in the role of third and fourth umpire, both are from South Africa. Whereas match referee Andy Pycroft is from Zimbabwe. Palekar was included in the elite panel of umpires along with Wharf in March 2025 and has officiated in six matches during the tournament.
