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To boost up women’s cricket, ICC Development Umpires included two Indian female umpires, Janani Narayanan and Vrinda Rathi, in their panel of 12 on Wednesday.
It is a part of the initiative taken up by 100% Cricket, launched ahead of the ICC women’s T20 WC final. The 12-month campaign is a promotional activity to build up the anticipation for the 2021 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.
ICC Senior Manager Umpires and Referees, Adrian Griffith, remained optimistic about the developments of women’s cricket globally.
“These are exciting times for women’s cricket, and it is only appropriate that we have more women officials at the international level. We will work proactively with Member Boards to give female officials the pathway needed for their growth,” Griffith commented according to the BCCI press release.
As many as 86,000+ pulled in to attend the recent T20 World Cup final at MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).
“I am sure Janani and Vrinda are looking forward to their time on the panel. I wish them all the best and hope they not only perform well on the assignment but continue to develop their skillset with our support as they travel along their journey,” added Griffith.
Janani, who idolizes David Shepherd and Srinivas Venkatraghavan, hopes that this opportunity would open up more avenues for her career. She remained ecstatic about the chance, being a former scorer and a player.
“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 being associated with the sport at a higher level,” Janani said.
“I am sure I will get to learn a lot from other members of the panel and look forward to future assignments,” continued the 34-year old.
Having played cricket and also officiated as a scorer, this was a natural progression for me and I am happy at the way things have unfolded,” concluded the newly inducted ICC Umpire.
Other ICC women match officials:
GS Lakshmi, Shandre Fritz (International Panel Match Referees); Lauren Agenbag, Kim Cotton, Shivani Mishra, Claire Polosak, Sue Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Mary Waldron, Jacquline Williams (all International Panel of ICC Development Umpires).
