After Friday's meeting with captains and coaches, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's meeting with the umpires got underway on Saturday morning in Mumbai.
"It is a brain-storming session with the umpires. This is the BCCI's first attempt to have a meeting with the umpires," said BCCI secretary S K Nair.
Representing India's umpiring fraternity are A V Jayprakash and K Hariharan, who are both on the International Cricket Council's panel of umpires. The other umpires at the meeting are B A Jamula, Sushanta Bathak and Sudhir Asnaini.
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Umpires' committee chairman Ranbir Singh Mahendra is chairing the meeting, which is being attended by BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, joint-secretary Prof. Shetty and Nair.
Nair told rediff.com, "We are having a discussion with the umpires about the problems faced by them and want to get suggestions from their side. It is a free, interactive session between the Board and a few umpires."
He added: "The BCCI is committed to improve umpiring standards; we need to improve our umpiring standards. We have very talented and professional umpires in India but they need to be groomed properly.
"In the discussion we will also talk about the feedback the Board has received from the players, about the captain's report and match referee's report. We are analyzing all the options available to us. The Board will then come up with a policy, which will be implemented later."
Umpire Jayaprakash exclusively informed rediff.com that having a Code of Conduct for umpires and players in India will be among the demands that will be put forward at the meeting.
"We need to change the attitude of the players towards umpires and vice-versa. The standards have to improve. The National Academy of India is helping to improve standards since last four years. We also need to know what the Board needs from the umpires.
Jayaprakash listed the points to be discussed:
Umpires Development Program: "Like in Australia and other cricketing nations the BCCI should also have an Umpires' Academy to help improve the standards of umpiring."
Have director of umpires: "To help and evaluate umpires regularly and also standardize the umpiring in India."
Code of Conduct for the umpires and players in India: "To make clear as to how the game should be played by the players and be conducted by the umpires."
Meet annually: "To narrow the gap of communication between the Board and the umpires."
Umpires' family to be accepted in cricket family: "We need to be accepted by the players, the media, the crowds, the sponsors and we need to have a better status."
Eradicate even 10 per cent error of umpiring: "Today there are around 520- 550 matches played annually and there are mistakes made not in more, but say 20 per cent of the games; we are trying to eradicate any kind of error."
The meeting is expected to go on for a couple of hours after which the BCCI chief will release the minutes of the meeting to the media.
