“Look Doc, that’s my son on the TV.”
There were the words of Aleweyah Palekar, the proud mother of Allahudien Palekar when she was in hospital last year. When he finished his consult, the doctor stepped out to speak to members of his patient’s family. The good doctor was convinced that the medication he had prescribed had made his patient disoriented or delirious or both. “She seems to think her son is part of the cricket match that is on TV,” he said. They had to reassure him that all was well, and this was not some flight of fancy.
Allahudien was indeed umpiring in that televised game, and his mother rarely missed watching her son when he was doing what he loved.
When Allahudien became South Africa’s 57th Test umpire — he has been fourth and third umpire before but never actually stood in a Test — his greatest ally, his mother was not around to be a part of the moment, having died just two months ago, after being in and out of hospital for a while. Allahudien ensured that his father, Jamalodien, was at the Wanderers. Jamolodien, himself an umpire, never got the opportunity to rise to the top, thanks to the Apartheid regime, but, even in his 70s, still officiates for Wynberg High School in Cape Town.
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Allahudien, a former batsman who played first-class cricket for Western Province and a strong Titans team that included the likes of Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn, made it to the top after a 15-year career climbing the rungs in umpiring. Allahudien, who counts Marais Erasmus as one of his inspirations and mentors, was right there at the other end during the course of the Test.
One of the great joys of being on a cricket tour is the chance to see a star being made.
If evidence of the second Test is anything to go by, the most exciting thing to come out of South African cricket at the moment is Allahudien. On the first morning, he had some very difficult calls to make, and yet he got them all spot on. To stand in a Test match, against a team such as India, when the eyes of the world are on you, is completely different from officiating at any other level. It would have been only natural if Allahudien, a young Test umpire at 44, was nervous and made some mistakes, but he did not slip up even once.
To be fair to him, Allahudien is no stranger to pressure situations. He was, after all, one of the officials in the game when the infamous Sandpapergate incident happened, involving Steve Smith, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and a carpenter’s tool that was used to alter the condition of the ball. On the second day, Allahudien showed that his first-day excellence was not beginner’s luck.
In the 52nd over of the innings, Mohammed Shami bowled the perfect delivery to trap Kyle Verrynne what looked to be plumb in front of the stumps. There was no problem with the line, length, point of impact or trajectory of the ball. Allahudien disagreed. The decision was sent up to the third umpire and snicko detected an edge that only one human being in the ground had.
If there’s a touch of a young Aleem Dar to Allahudien, this is no coincidence. The two have been in regular touch since they spent a week together in New Zealand in 2012. “Allahudien, congratulations on your Test debut, brother,” Dar said in a heartfelt message. “I remember, a few years back, I had given you some umpiring tips in New Zealand. Then you had your ODI debut, where you did well. Please maintain your consistency in all formats.”
Allahudien would not have even got this chance to stand in this home Test against India if it had not been for the pandemic. But, even before this, his ties to India are close ones. Allahudien traces his roots to a village in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra and has stood in two Ranji Trophy matches, thanks to an umpire exchange program between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Cricket South Africa.
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This was extra special because the first of those two matches was at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, a venue he had been denied entry to earlier when he had visited as a tourist. On the eve of the second Test, Pallies, as Allahudien is fondly referred to in South African cricket circles and known to his family and friends, said his journey to the top was not of his own making alone. “So there’s a lot of sacrifice when it comes to that and my wife Shakira has had to endure a lot too,” said Allahudien. “I must also thank her for the support and patience she has shown through my journey, she has really been a pillar of strength for me. And now with the pandemic things have got even tougher.”
Things may have gotten tougher, but cricket has unearthed a gem in Allahudien. If he continues in this vein, he could well be the true heir to Dar, who was named umpire of the year three years in a row from 2009 to 2011.
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