Ranji Trophy 2023: Vrinda Rathi, N Janani and V Gayatri on Tuesday created history by becoming the first women umpires to officiate in Ranji Trophy.
A Former cricketer whose career ended due to injury:-
Gayatri, a former cricketer whose career ended due to injury, is currently officiating in the second-round match between Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in Jamshedpur.
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Janani, an ex-software engineer, is officiating in Surat for the game between Railways and Tripura, while Rathi, a former scorer, is in charge of the Goa vs Pondicherry match in Porvorim.
Hailing from different backgrounds, the trio, who are already highly respected in the women’s circuit, created history thanks to the BCCI’s decision to groom women umpires on the men’s domestic circuit.
A long-time cricket lover, 36-year-old Janani had approached the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) several times to become an umpire.
She cleared the BCCI’s Level 2 umpiring exam in 2018, a few years after the state body changed its rule to allow women to officiate.
Also served in Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL):-
It took some thinking before quitting my IT job to take up umpiring. Since then Narine has also officiated in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) in 2021.
Rathi, 32, is a resident of Mumbai. She used to score in local matches before clearing the BCCI scorer exam.
She was the official BCCI scorer for the 2013 Women’s World Cup. Later, she moved into umpiring.
Janani and Rathi are experienced umpires and were also included in the ICC Panel of Development Umpires in 2020.
Veteran umpires coach Dennis Burns, who has worked closely with the Indian umpires and overseen their rise to the international level, hailed the duo’s elevation to the ICC Development Panel.
Representing the ‘new wave of women umpires in India:-
“I think Janani and Vrinda represent the ‘new wave’ of women umpires in India,” she had said.
The 43-year-old Gayatri, who hails from Delhi, had dreamed of becoming a cricketer but a shoulder injury put an end to her hopes.
He started umpiring in 2019 after passing the BCCI exam. Venugopalan has already served as the reserve (fourth) umpire in the Ranji Trophy.
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While men’s cricket in England and Australia already employs several female umpires. Only three of the 150 umpires registered with the BCCI are women.
