Three female umpires — Janani Narayan, Vrinda Rathi, and Gayathri Venugopalan — were given refereeing jobs in the Ranji Trophy this year and are poised to make history. They must be unambiguous in their communication with the participants and maintain composure in the face of aggressive appeals, a BCCI official said on December 06.
For the first time, female umpires were requested to referee men’s cricket games this season. Given that the Ranji Trophy, which begins on December 13, falls on the same day as India’s games at home versus Australia, the three female umpires will only be able to oversee a small number of matches in the men’s 1st class competition. Vrinda Rathi used to strike on the Mumbai maidans, but a fortuitous encounter with renowned umpire Kathy Cross from New Zealand motivated her to enter the 22-yard zone.
The Indian Board’s decision to choose women umpires for the men’s domestic circuit has resulted in the three pioneers currently serving as on-field officials for Ranji Trophy games this season. “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 Rathi, Janani Narayanan, and Gayathri Venugopalan won’t be participating in the tournament opening round, which begins on December 13, because they are referees for the India-Australia women’s T20I tournament. They will rather start in Round 2 of the tournament.
Except for women’s cricket, several state organisations select women to umpire local men’s events. However, until this point, the BCCI had never let women act as on-field supervisors in senior men’s championships. Despite being prohibited from speaking to the media, Indian board-contracted umpires claim to be aware of the three women poised to create history.
Let’s talk about each of them separately
Vrinda Rathi, a 32-year-old medium bowler from Mumbai, had played for Mumbai University. She was a frequent scorer in neighbourhood tournaments in Mumbai and passed the BCCI tests for scorers in 2010. When she first met the New Zealand umpire, she was indeed the authorised BCCI scorer for the women’s World Cup in 2013. After clearing the examinations administered by the Mumbai Cricket Association, she qualified for the BCCI examinations.
Janani Narayanan, 36, has consistently been fascinated by cricket, albeit never taking the sport professionally. She approached the TNCA in 2009 and 2012 to demand an available position to serve as an umpire, much to the surprise of local administrators. She received the paperwork when the state agency updated its rules and mindsets in 2015. 2018 saw Narayanan complete the BCCI’s Tier 2 umpiring test, at which point she opted to quit her Software job.
A shoulder condition forced Gayathri Venugopalan, a 43-year-old Delhi native who wanted to play cricket professionally, to rethink her plans. She left her professional job in 2019 and enlisted as an umpire after completing the BCCI umpiring exams. Vrinda Rathi and Janani Narayanan supervised matches during the under-23 boys’ CK Nayudu Tournament. However, they will take a giant stride this year by discharging ultimate power in a male-dominated field.
