India is a country where cricket is followed with immense passion. It’s a dream career for millions of youngsters. However, one young woman gave up a secure job as a bank manager to follow her passion for cricket and chose to become a match referee instead. That young woman is Nama Khobragade, who is truly crazy about cricket.
Nama Khobragade recently cleared the BCCI’s match referee examination, which was held in Ahmedabad from June 17 to 19. Representing the Vidarbha Cricket Association, Nama not only passed the exam but secured a place among the top three candidates. Out of 75 participants at the all-India level, only 10 were selected as match referees. From the Vidarbha Cricket Association, Sonia secured the second position and Nama came third.
Nama has been passionate about cricket since childhood. Watching matches on television sparked her interest, and she began playing cricket in her neighborhood. She went on to represent Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) and the West Zone at both junior and senior levels. She also captained Nagpur University at the university level. Nama retired from playing cricket in 2017. Later, she joined a bank as a Probationary Officer (PO) and eventually rose to the position of senior manager.
Despite holding a high-paying job, Nama resigned in 2024 to prepare for the match referee examination.
The results of the exam were announced on July 3, and Nama successfully secured a place as a match referee for the BCCI. Her passion for cricket was so strong that she left her senior manager post at Bank of Baroda to pursue this path. Her family supported her wholeheartedly in this decision. Her elder sisters Neha and Kranti, as well as Jeevan Bachhav, encouraged and motivated her.
Nama Khobragade is the daughter of EZ Khobragade, a former civil servant, and Rekha Khobragade, a social activist and member of the Constitution Foundation.