All the focus and attention is mostly on the players slogging it out. But there are a couple of individuals, who put in an effort no less strenuous than that of the players on the field.

For close to two months, Nitin Menon, Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma were the ones to be under scrutiny as the trio officiated in most of the India-England matches — across all formats — that concluded with the third and final ODI in Pune on Sunday. And just like the players did, they too had to face as well as brave the challenges of bubble life.

But out of the three, it’s Menon who stands out. Officiating in all the four Tests, followed by three T20Is — the first, fourth and the final — and then in all the three ODIs, the task was cut out for the 37-year-old Menon, who became a BCCI umpire back in 2006.

To be fair to Menon, who’s India’s 62nd Test umpire and got inducted into the ICC elite panel last June, he cleared what was a really difficult test with distinction.

In fact, the figures also underline how well he has officiated, especially in the Test series, where his decisions were sent for review on 31 occasions. But out of them, only five reviews were upheld, with Menon’s success percentage being 83.87.

“Of course, Nitin has done a fantastic job in these high-pressure games and that too, on turning tracks. People have tried to put Indian umpires down, but he has placed the Indian flag very high.

“Also, he handled tough situations during the matches in a very professional manner,” former umpire Amiesh Saheba, who has officiated in three Tests, 51 ODIs and four T20Is, told The Telegraph from Ahmedabad on Monday.

“This is what the standard of Indian umpires is. The world should know it by now. Day in and day out, Nitin and his (Indian) colleagues are officiating on turning tracks, where the overseas umpires do not have any clue. So, the entire credit goes to Nitin first, and then of course, Anil Chaudhary, Virender Sharma and KN Ananthapadmanabhan.

“We should keep backing them so that they move further up the ladder. And going back to Menon, I think he should get the ICC’s best umpire award for this season, because it was a really tough series in challenging conditions,” Saheba added.

Chaudhary, who officiated with Menon in a total of four matches during the recently-concluded tour and had a decent outing as well, highlighted the aspect of teamwork which got them going in the prevailing circumstances.

“Nitin did a brilliant job, while our teamwork was great. In the evening, during our off time, we used to eat together and ensured we maintain a good atmosphere,” Chaudhary reflected.

“Even Joe Root had spoken well about us after the pink-ball Test (in Ahmedabad). Such a performance was possible mainly because of our teamwork.”