After being included in the ICC's elite panel of umpires, India's Nitin Menon has said that he aims to keep the Indian flag flying high.
The umpire also added that he wants to see more representation from India in the ICC's elite panel.
"We did not have any representation in the Elite Panel for a while. I now want to keep the Indian flag flying high. I hope to see more umpires from India at the top level," the official website of BCCI quoted Menon as saying.
"I see this as an opportunity and a big responsibility to take Indian Umpires forward and guide them in every possible way by sharing my experiences," he added.
The 36-year-old Menon has become the youngest Indian umpire to be named on the panel and is third and currently the only Indian after Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Sundaram Ravi.
Nitin, who recently stood in his maiden Test, has officiated in three Tests, 24 ODIs and 16 T20Is.
He has also officiated in two ICC Women's T20 World Cups.
His elevation comes on the back of his consistent performances in the ICC panel of international umpires, where he was first named in 2016.
A former cricketer Menon represented Madhya Pradesh in U-16, U-19, U-23 and List A matches from 1996 to 2004.
At 22, he decided to follow the footsteps of his father Narendra, a former first first-class cricketer and an international umpire.
He cleared the BCCI umpiring exam in 2006 at the age of 23 and started officiating in domestic matches from the 2007-08 season.
( With inputs from ANI )
