For everyone watching a game of cricket, the personnel on the field is divided into three teams – the batsmen, the fielding team and the match officials running the game. In this age of T20 cricket leagues, it is fathomable for the two playing teams to mingle with each other once they leave the field of play. However, there are very few instances, if any, where the players and the officials come together to discuss their respective ideas that will improve the running of the game. Something like that happened at the BCCI and IPL Headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday. Simon Taufel conducted the pre-IPL conclave with the Indian umpires and match referees to officiate in Pepsi IPL 2015. As the workshop veered into the post-lunch session, the doors of the conference room opened and in walked Rohit Sharma. He took centre-stage with Simon Taufel, who was conducting the workshop, and took various questions from the match officials present in the room. He spoke to them in the capacity of a player and the captain of Mumbai Indians. At the end of the short but highly valuable interaction, Rohit described the experience as enriching. “This was the first time that I interacted with the umpires and referees like this. And it was a good experience,” Rohit told IPLT20.COM. “It was good to share thoughts with the umpires from the player and captain’s perspective. This is a very good initiative from the BCCI because it is for the betterment of the game.” The India batsman acknowledged the importance of an umpire’s role in the game of cricket and appreciated the opportunity to discuss with them the issues that divide them from the players on the field. He believes such player-official interactions will go a long way in taking the friction out of the game. “When people watch the game on TV, they should feel happy about it. They shouldn’t have to see people having a go at each other,” Rohit said. “This is one step towards it – a captain coming and sharing his views with the umpires and the umpires telling their side of the story. You never get to see these two sides of the game together – the players and the officials. What happens on the field stays there and these two parties never get to share their thoughts with each other in such an open manner.” To every query that came his way, Rohit’s response was very forthcoming and candid. He spoke openly about what he expects from the umpires on the field as a captain and what he wants them to understand from a player’s point of view. Rohit said he wanted to be very honest as that is the only way to work together for the good of the game. “It has to work that way. If you want to see an improvement in the game and in the field, you have got to say what you really think. Only then will this exercise make a difference. I said everything I wanted to say because I knew this was my best chance to get my thoughts across to the officials and tell them what happens on the other side of the official-players spectrum.” An instance of Rohit’s honesty came to the fore when he was asked by one official whether he feels that at times the umpires should leave the captain alone. “When you’re on the field as a player or captain, there are certain things you want to avoid. When there is an intense game going on, the captain already has too much on his plate to think about,” Rohit said. “If the umpires come and talk to you about something else, you don’t want to get your head messed up further and lose focus from the game. I was asked about it and I gave them an honest answer. I am sure they will take it on board and do what is best not only for the officials but also the players.” While he expected the officials to respect the players’ space, Rohit also iterated that the umpires should be treated with as much respect as the players and that cricketers should do their best to help the officials run the game smoothly. “For the good of the game it is very important for the players and officials to gel together. We need to work together for the greater good of the game,” Rohit said. “There are boundaries that should not be crossed. As the captain, it is my job to ensure there is no indiscipline in the field from my players. Cricket is such a beautiful sport and we don’t want to spoil the fun of it by doing stupid things on the field that leads the focus to shift away from cricket.”