The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to introduce women umpires in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season. Vrinda Rathi, Janani Narayanan, and Gayathri Vengopalan are set to officiate in Ranji Trophy 2022-23 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.
The Board is set to make a official announcement soon. Rathi Narayanan and Venugopalan are set to officiate from Round 2 of the tournament. The duo will miss the first leg due to officiating in the India-Australia women’s T20I series.Many state associations do draft women to officiate in men’s games locally, apart from women’s cricket. But until now, the BCCI had never given women an opportunity to officiate as on-field umpires in men’s senior tournaments. Mumbai’s Rathi, 32, was a medium pacer and had represented Mumbai University. She was a regular scorer in local matches in Mumbai and in 2010, cleared the BCCI exams for scorers. In 2013, she was the official BCCI scorer for the women’s World Cup, when she came across the New Zealand umpire. She cleared the Mumbai Cricket Association exams and subsequently, the BCCI test.
