Women's T20 World Cup 2023: Vrinda Rathi becomes first Indian woman in history to officiate as on-field umpire

The 33-year-old, Vrinda Rathi, hails from Navi Mumbai started her thrilling journey from the maidans of Mumbai. Before coming out with flying colours in the BCCI scorers exam, Rathi used to score local matches. Notably, she was the official BCCI scorer for the 2013 Women's World Cup. Thereafter, she decided to switch to umpiring role, after she was second-ranked in the Level 2 exam of the BCCI to become India's first female umpire.

Interestingly enough, the Mumbai-based umpire, recently, officiated in the Goa versus Pondicherry clash at Porvorim in Ranji Trophy. Moreover, Vrinda Rathi was also the part of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) panel of development umpires back in 2020.

Consequently, in a historic first, Rathi has become the first Indian woman ever to become an on-field umpire in the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup, which is being conducted in South Africa.

ICC has organised an all-female panel to officiate all the T20 World cup matches

The International Cricket Council (ICC) General Manager, Wasim Khan, shared his joy about having an all-female panel to officiate the World Cup matches. He had stated that this move was not only necessary but also long due, because women's cricket has been growing in popularity and it was important to give women the option to enroll in jobs in every sphere of the sports industry.

In the same vein, ICC manager of women's cricket, Snehal Pradhan chimed in and said, “When young women and girls see it, they believe that they can be it. That’s just one of the reasons why having this match officials panel is so special."

“It shows the next generation that there is a career and a pathway that takes them to the very top of the game, the World Cup, even if you’re not a player. It shows that there are so many ways to get involved," Pradhan concluded.

Female umpires are definitely a rarity in cricket, but with passing times and gender equality being considered a huge topic of debates and discussions in the sporting world, women are gradually taking up roles in every sphere of the sports industry to prove their mettle. Rathi's rise to the international level will undoubtedly send out a very positive vibe and encourage many aspiring women to take up such challenging roles.

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