Pune: The Women’s T20 Challenge kicked underway between the Supernovas Women and Trailblazers at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, with women umpires presiding for the first time in the tournament’s history.
N. Janani and Vrinda Rathi were the umpires for the Women’s T20 Challenge’s first match, which has turned out to be fairly exciting with some great batting and bowling action. GS Lakshmi was the match referee, and she also officiated the Women’s Cricket World Cup Final between Australia and England.
Denis Burns, a seasoned umpire coach, commended the two female umpires for being named to the ICC Development Panel in 2020, saying, ”I think Janani and Vrinda represent the ‘new wave’ of female umpires in India,” indicating their efficiency.
The Women’s T20 Challenge, which is only in its fourth iteration, was organized after the Indian women’s cricket team came second in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup, prompting the creation of a tournament similar to the IPL for women.
There have been three previous editions – 2018, 2019, and 2020 – and now, following the pandemic, the Women’s T20 Challenge has returned for the fourth time. Since then, thoughts have changed dramatically, as we are now seeing women umpires officiating matches, which was initially uncommon in Indian cricket.
