The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to include women umpires in men's domestic tournaments. A BCCI official said that women umpires would get a chance to officiate in the upcoming season of the Ranji Trophy.
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Vrinda Rathi, Janani Narayanan, and Gayathri Venugopalan have been selected for this. After the announcement of the women's IPL tournament, this is another big decision of BCCI regarding women. Vrinda Rathi and Janani Narayanan have officiated in the Men's Under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy matches, but this season they will make the big leap and be the finalists in a ground full of men.
"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,"
BCCI BCCI official told The Indian Express
In addition to women's cricket, many state cricket associations also have women umpiring in men's matches at the local level. But so far the BCCI has never appointed women as on-field umpires in men's senior tournaments.
Moreover, Mumbai's Vrinda Rathi (32) was a medium pacer. She represented Mumbai University in cricket and passed the BCCI scoring test in 2010. Vrinda played the role of a scorer in the 2013 Women's World Cup. Meanwhile, Vrinda met New Zealand umpire Kathy Cross and after this, she passed the umpiring examination of the Mumbai Cricket Association and BCCI.
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On the other hand, Janani Narayanan, 36, has never played cricket at a high level but has always had a passion for the game. Janani approached the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association in 2009 and 2012 expressing her desire to become an umpire. In the year 2015, the state cricket association finally changed its rules and gave them a form. In 2018, Janani passed the Level 2 umpiring exam of BCCI. After this, she decided to quit his IT job.
Meanwhile, Delhi-based Gayathri Venugopalan, 43, wanted to become a professional cricketer but a shoulder injury shattered her dream. However, Gayatri did not give up and left her corporate career and passed the BCCI umpiring exam. In 2019, BCCI has selected her as an umpire.