The Indian Premier League (IPL) has gone through many changes, but as the 2025 season approaches, Tanmay Srivastava has created a story that is unlike any other. A former cricket player who once featured for India in the 2008 U19 World Cup, where he played with Virat Kohli. Srivastava is now moving on and becoming an umpire.

From Promising Batter to IPL Umpire

From Talented Batter to IPL Umpire Tanmay Srivastava was a very talented left-handed batsman who made his mark in age-group cricket. He was also India’s highest run-scorer in the U19 World Cup, in which the team won the World Cup under Virat Kohli's captaincy. His performances opened up opportunities that he took in domestic cricket, and he also played in the IPL for teams such as Kings XI Punjab now Punjab Kings.

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As talented as he was as a young player tho, Srivastava didn't get to live out his dreams of playing internationally, but he did have a nice domestic career playing for Uttar Pradesh and other teams in the Ranji Trophy until winding down his professional career in 2020.

Cricket has traditionally seen many players become coaches or commentators, but Srivastava’s move into umpiring is both rare and laudable. While one might think that being an umpire simply requires an understanding of cricket, it is much more involved. To be a successful umpire, a level of knowledge about the game is needed; the ability to quickly, confidently, and calmly make decisions must not only be supported by the understanding of the rules, but by experience playing at a high level.

Tanmay Srivastava, who played the U19 World Cup 2008 with Virat Kohli, is set to make his debut as a BCCI-qualified umpire in IPL 2025 🏏#TanmaySrivastava #ViratKohli #IPL #IPL2025 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/0f62kKqpCE

— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) March 19, 2025

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Srivastava has shown it can be done and there is life beyond serving in a playing position a player can still impact the sport from many angles. Taking into account the IPL is synonymous with high-pressure moments, Srivastava will face a different type of challenge making real-time and accurate calls for the game, with the pressure on knowing many millions are watching  a tall ask for anybody! If an indicator for success is based on his previous playing career, he has  temperament and the necessary knowledge behind his decisions.

As IPL 2025 unfolds, all eyes will be on Tanmay Srivastava, not for his batting strokes but for his ability to make the right calls—this time, as an umpire.

Cricket tends to create interesting stories, and one of them is Tanmay Srivastava's. From being a bright young batman and a team-mate of Virat Kohli in India's triumphant 2008 U-19 World Cup team, Srivastava has today adopted a new role within the game umpiring in the IPL.

Srivastava was a very good cricketer in his younger days, topping the Indian run-scorer list in the 2008 U-19 World Cup. Though a few of his colleagues, such as Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, had extended international careers, Srivastava took a different route. Following years of domestic cricket, he retired in 2020 and turned his attention to umpiring.

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His path to umpiring is a proof of his innate love for the game. Given his background in playing, Srivastava carries with himself useful experience into his new function, ensuring play fair on the ground. Here now, having entered the IPL in an official role, he has come the full circle of going from runs scored under lights to taking those fateful middle decisions.

Cricket does find such peculiar ways to keep its players in its folds, and Tanmay Srivastava's tale is yet another case of the unpredictable yet intriguing nature of the game.