It’s quite interesting how careers turn around in sports. From the day when he won the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup, Virat Kohli has gone on to become a world beater, one of the finest batters to ever play the game. But most of his other teammates from that Under-19 squad didn’t find the cricketing career to be as rewarding. As Virat begins a new adventure in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), his former U19 India teammate Tanmay Srivastava will make his umpiring debut in the same T20 league.
According to a report in the Times of India, Tanmay landed an umpiring job in the IPL, at the age of 35. Incidentally, Tanmay was the top-scoring batter for India in the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup final. But his career didn’t lead to the same road as Kohli’s did.
Tanmay also earned a contract with Punjab Kings after showing his talent in the 2008 U19 World Cup but it all went downhill for him afterwards.
“I understood that was the best player I could be,” Srivastava said in a chat with TOI. “I was nowhere close to playing the IPL. I had to decide if I wanted to prolong life as a player or have a longer successful second innings.”
Tanmay ended his cricketing career at the age of 30 while he was still the captain of the Uttarakhand team, having previously played for Uttar Pradesh. He decided to try something else in cricket other than being a player. The decision was understandably a hard one. While Tanmay hasn’t yet been given an on-field role in the IPL, he is keeping his fingers crossed.
A true player never leaves the field—just changes the game.
Wishing Tanmay Srivastava the best as he dons a new hat with the same passion!#UPCA #IPL #UP #PrideOfUP pic.twitter.com/wrRoW31OG2
— UPCA (@UPCACricket) March 17, 2025
Tanmay is still in touch with Virat, whom he might get to meet in this IPL.
“I am still in touch with Virat, but I had to decide for myself and have a practical outlook,” he revealed.
“I told Rajiv Shukla sir that I wanted to do something else in cricket other than playing. He was a bit taken aback since I was still just 30. Then we discussed what the options could be. I did my Level 2 course in coaching in NCA, but I knew the best I could become was fielding coach. I decided to focus on umpiring,” Srivastava said.
He decided to take up umpiring, studied for its exams while also juggling different cricketing jobs, like being a talent scout for RCB and being one of the coaches at the National Cricket Academy.
“Studying for umpiring is tough. I used to stay up at nights. You have to study a lot to understand the laws and its implications,” he said.
“There is certain relaxation for players irrespective of the level of cricket they’ve played. The board is encouraging young players to take up umpiring rather than heavily depending on older people with bookish knowledge,” he asserted.
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