Malayali Tony Emmatty to make IPL debut as fourth umpire today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tony Emmatty, a Malayali, is making his debut as an umpire in IPL cricket. Tony, a native of Thrissur and a lawyer, is the fourth umpire in the match between the Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai today. He will make his debut as a field umpire in the match between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow in Lucknow on the 15th of this month.

Tony will be the first Malayali to officiate IPL matches after K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan. Tony is also the first Malayali to officiate Women's Premier League matches. Tony officiated as a field umpire in four matches this season, as a TV umpire in two matches each and as a fourth umpire.

Tony started umpiring in the eighth grade at CMS School, Thrissur. Sneharaj was his umpiring guru. At law college, he excelled as a player and an umpire. At the age of 18, Tony became a professional umpire, officiating the Super League final at Kerala Varma College, Thrissur.

Even after studying law and practising in the district court for 10 years, Tony did not give up umpiring. He temporarily gave up the lawyer's uniform after becoming a BCCI Level Two umpire in 2018. During this time, he officiated about 2500 matches, including tennis ball tournaments. He officiated 10 matches in the Ranji Trophy. Tony even umpired in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy and Vijay Hazare. His father is lawyer E.T. Lazar. His mother, A.O. Mariam, was a teacher. His wife, B. Rashmi is also a lawyer. Daughter: Emma.