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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.