According
to the latest reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has taken the
initiative to introduce women’s umpires in the 2022-23 edition of the Ranji
Trophy. It will be the first-ever occasion of women’s umpires standing in
senior men’s domestic tournaments in the country.
The trio of
Vrinda Rathi, Janani Narayanan and Gayathri Venugopalan are the umpires chosen
to officiate India’s premier red-ball domestic tournament. The BCCI official
has confirmed the above development to the Indian Express.
“Going
ahead, women umpires will be getting to do Ranji Trophy games. This is just a
start. The BCCI has decided to give them the opportunity in the men’s game,
too,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.
Vrinda, while
working as an official scorer was influenced by the New Zealand umpire Kathy
Cross in the 2013 Women’s World Cup in India. So far, she has been an umpire in
16 WT20Is and served as a TV umpire in three games. The most recent stint was
the Women’s Asia Cup 2022.
Janani quit
her software job Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) floated applications for
the umpires. The 37-year-old has officiated in 11 WT20Is and 2 ODIs. She is
serving as an umpire in the ongoing New Zealand Women Under-19s tour of India.
On the
other hand, Gayathri could not continue her playing career due to a shoulder
injury but made sure to be part of the game with the capacity of an umpire. She
has served this role in the Legends League Cricket and Women’s T20 Challenge.
Vrinda,
Janani and Gayathri will miss Round 1 of Ranji Trophy 2022-23 staring next week,
as they will be busy officiating in the India-Australia women’s T20I series.