Vrinda & Janani make ICC grade
Dubai, March 18: The number of women match officials across different International Cricket Council panels has gone up to 12 as Chennai’s Janani Narayanan and Mumbai’s Vrinda Rathi were on Wednesday named in the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires.
The announcement comes soon after the launch of 100% Cricket, a 12-month campaign anticipated to build on the momentum of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
The campaign, launched just before 86,174 people watched the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day, aims to create more excitement around the women’s game ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.
Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager– Umpires and Referees: “These are exciting times for women’s cricket, and it is only appropriate that we have more women officials at the international level,” she said.
Janani, 34, who idolises the late David Shepherd of England and retired India umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan, has been umpiring in Indian domestic tournaments since 2018.
Janani said: “It feels great to know that Vrinda and I have been inducted into the ICC’s development panel. This gives me the chance to learn from seniors on the circuit and improve in the years to come.
“Cricket has become part of my daily routine since the 90s and I look forward to be associated with the sport at a higher level,” Janani added.
Rathi, 31, a former varsity player who has kept scores in international matches, has also been umpiring in Indian domestic cricket since 2018.
Rathi was inspired to take up umpiring after watching retired woman umpire Kathy Cross of New Zealand at the Women’s World Cup 2013 and feels umpiring is a natural progression for her.