New Delhi, March 20 : India's premier umpire Anil Chaudhary revealed that umpiring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is more difficult than officiating international matches.

Chaudhary, who has vast experience in officiating on both levels, also shared the added pressure of his neighbours while officiating in India's matches. However, the 60-year-old has never let emotions overpower him and remains committed to professionalism.

"Whenever I would officiate India's matches, my neighbours would come to me and jokingly say 'Sir India ka dhyan rakhna'... We are professionals, and can't mix feelings and emotions while performing our duty... IPL is more tough than doing umpiring in international matches... We don't listen to what is being said (negative or positive) about us outside the ground, we just do our job," Chaudhary told IANS on Thursday.

Chaudhary last officiated in the Ranji Trophy final between Vidabha and Kerala in Nagpur. He has the experience of officiating in 140 international matches including men's and women's across formats so far. He has also officiated in a whopping 226 matches in the IPL in different capacities - both as umpire and match referee. He has also officiated in 90 First-Class games up until now.

The veteran will now be seen in the upcoming 2025 season of the IPL, commencing on Saturday. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the tournament opener at Eden Gardens.

KKR will be led by veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane after the departure of title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer ahead of last year's mega auction. On the other hand, Australia captain Pat Cummins will continue to lead Hyderabad in the coveted tournament after leading them to the final in the last edition.

/IANS