LAHORE Umpire Aleem Dar has said that an unfulfilled dream of playing for Pakistan gave him inspiration to take umpiring in international matches as career. I realised that perhaps it was too late to catch that train, but to break the romance with my passion for this game was not possible, so I made a life-changing decision, PakPassion quoted Dar, as saying. Instead of occupying the crease as a player, I contented myself with staying on the turf as an umpire, he added. The 42-year-old said that he had to face an uphill battle to realise his dream, as umpiring is hardly an established profession in Pakistan. Initially, I started supervising cricket matches in local club tournaments, but there was hardly enough money to make it into a career, so for a short interval, I thought of scrapping the whole idea, Dar said. However, with motivation from my wife and consistent pursuance of my respected friend Azhar Zaidi, I reverted back on my decision, he added. Dar further cited legendary umpire Steve Bucknor was a source of inspiration, guidance and companionship for him. Steve Bucknor is my favorite international umpire and my role model in the umpiring profession. He was closely associated with me in the initial part of my international career, and lent me maximum support as a senior in the trade, and guided me in carrying out my assignments, he said.