Steve Bucknor from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will become the first umpire to stand in 100 Test matches when he officiates in the second Test of the series between India and Pakistan, from March 16-20 in Kolkata.
He will stand with Darrell Hair.
Hair and Rudi Koertzen will officiate in the first Test at Mohali while Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden will officiate in the third Test at Bangalore.
The match referee for the series will be Chris Broad.
Bucknor will become the first umpire to stand in 100 Test. By reaching a century of Test appearances, he will become the first recipient of the ICC Golden Bails Award, part of the ICC's Umpire Recognition programme, which also includes the Bronze Bails Award (for 100 ODI appearances) and Silver Bails Award (for 200 ODIs).
Bucknor's first Test in the middle was the fourth Test between the West Indies and India in Kingston, Jamaica, in April 1989. He officiated in four consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup finals.
Bowden will be the ICC-appointed umpire in the first three One-Day Internationals of the six-match series while Koertzen will take this role in the last three ODIs.
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