Mumbai's Vrinda Rathi becomes a part of ICC Development panel of umpires

On Wednesday, Mumbai's Vrinda Rathi along with Tamil Nadu's N Janani was inducted into the ICC Development panel of umpires. The two umpires were informed about the development by a senior BCCI official through a letter.

"Mumbai Cricket Association congratulates Ms. Vrinda Rathi (Mumbai Cricket Association) and Ms. Janani N (Tamil Nadu Cricket Association) on being inducted in the ICC Development Panel of Umpires," The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) wrote on its Twitter handle.

Mumbai Cricket Association congratulates Ms. Vrinda Rathi (Mumbai Cricket Association) and Ms. Janani N (Tamil Nadu Cricket Association) on being inducted in the ICC Development Panel of Umpires.

— Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) (@MumbaiCricAssoc) March 18, 2020

Rathi was the first Indian female umpire to have officiated a competitive T20 cricket match. Rathi started her career as a scorer and then went on to become an umpire. She had officiated in the city's local T20 tournament, T20 Mumbai League.

The 29-year-old Mumbai based Rathi became an umpire after she cleared the BCCI’s Level-2 Umpiring Exam. The exam is a necessity to become eligible for umpiring in international women’s cricket and junior boys’ matches.

The Mumbai-based umpire spends her time officiating matches of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in the maidans of the city. Previously, Rathi was a BCCI affiliated scorer and participated in the 2013 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. She saw Kathy Cross, an international cricket umpire, who retired from the game recently and got interested in taking up umpiring.

Along with being an off-field participant in the game, Rathi has the experience of playing cricket as a medium pacer for Mumbai University. She has officiated matches with a fellow female umpire from Mumbai Varsha Nagre as well.

Meanwhile, the first-ever female umpire to have officiated a Men's ODI match was Claire Polosak. Polasak in April 2019, became the first woman to stand in a men’s ODI match, when she was one of the on-field umpires for the final of the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.

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