Women cricket umpires Vrinda, Janani set to make history

November 14 is set to be a landmark day for women in Indian cricket. On that day, Vrinda Rathi will become the first woman umpire to officiate in the Manipur vs Mizoram match in the C.K. Nayudu Trophy—the BCCI's under-23 competition for men. The match will be played at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground in Kalyani.

Vrinda, who hails from Navi Mumbai, will soon be followed by S. Janani, from Chennai, who will officiate in the Tripura vs Andhra Pradesh match in the Cooch Behar Trophy, from November 19-26.

Both the women have cleared the level 2 umpiring exam of the BCCI which makes them eligible to officiate in all matches, incuding national and international ones, conducted by the Board at all levels. While there have been a few women umpires officiating in local league matches and even some List A domestic matches, the duo are the first to clear the level 2 exam.

“The exams were very stringent. The aspirants had to clear level 1 and 2, theory and practical exam. The cut-off marks for clearing the exam was set very high, at 90 per cent,” said Saba Karim, former India wicketkeeper and GM, cricket operations, BCCI.

Apart from the two women umpires, the current domestic season will also see 13 female match referees on duty. With the current domestic season seeing a massive spurt in number of matches due to addition of nine new teams, adequate number of match officials available to conduct the matches has been a concern.

In exclusive e-mail interviews with THE WEEK, both Vrinda and Janani spoke about how they set out on the path less trodden by women. Excerpts:

On their cricket career (Janani hasn't played cricket)

Vrinda: I played cricket in college. I was a medium-pace bowler and represented Mumbai University for four consecutive years from 2007. I was also part of the Mumbai University cricket team that emerged as the all-India champion in 2008-09.

Janani: I haven't played cricket but I have been watching matches religiously since early 90s. It has become part of my daily routine.

On the stringent qualification criteria

Vrinda: I cleared my state panel umpiring exam in 2014 and started officiating in local matches under Mumbai Cricket Association. I have officiated more than 150 days of cricket ranging from junior/school cricket to senior division cricket.

After two years, my state association asked me to appear for a qualifying test to be one of the 25 candidates to represent Mumbai Cricket Association at a BCCI level 1 umpiring course—2016.

The course focused on the MCC The Laws of Cricket. The pass percentage for the exam was 80 per cent. In April that year, I passed with 94 per cent.

In June 2017, I had to undergo BCCI level 1 refresher course—2017. Only those candidates who had successfully cleared the level 1 course were eligible for this with the pass percentage being 85 per cent. It was an all-theory exam. I was one of the 93 candidates across India to clear the exam.

In June 2018, I, along with aforesaid 93 candidates, appeared for the BCCI level 2 theory exam, which focused extensively on MCC The Laws of Cricket and BCCI playing conditions for domestic cricket. The competition was intense and margin for error was negligible, with 90 per cent being the qualification criteria. The BCCI conducted a training programme for the same at the National Academy for Umpires in Nagpur. I passed the exam.

The final stage comprised viva voce (75 per cent marks) and practical examination (25 per cent). It was conducted by S. Ravi, ICC elite panel umpire, and Shahvir Tarapore, former Test umpire. The viva focused on the understanding of laws and playing conditions through videos and oral questions. Practical exam was a real-time test where candidates had to officiate for four overs each. They were assessed in parameters like leadership, teamwork, body language, presentation skills and match management.

I scored 94.5 per cent in aggregate and became one of the 18 candidates to be selected to the BCCI panel of domestic umpires. The 18 umpires were inducted into the panel during the New Umpires Induction Course—2018 at Chennai on November 9-10, 2018, under the guidance of Denis Burns, ICC umpires coach.

Janani: I cleared my Tamil Nadu Cricket Association state panel exam in 2015 (women were not allowed earlier. I had tried to appear in 2009 and 2012). Classes were held for two weeks prior to the exam, which helped me understand the laws, which we seldom learn by just watching cricket. I scored good marks and started officiating in local division matches in Chennai from August 2015.

When the level 1 exam was announced, the TNCA conducted a tough written test to select 25 eligible candidates across the state. The series of exams started as we read, and re-read the bible of cricket—MCC The Laws of Cricket. Classes were conducted by the BCCI at Chennai for level 1 course and the exam was a cakewalk.

The level 1 refresher course broke my reverie as we had a tough paper which we couldn't clear. Luckily, the BCCI announced a re-exam. I put in more effort and cleared the exam held at Nagpur.

Next was the level 2 theory exam. The playing conditions came into the picture and some practical scenarios had to be dealt with. I was quite happy to cross the 90 per cent cut-off. Practical exam and viva followed soon after.

On getting into umpiring

Vrinda: Having been involved in the game as a player and then as a BCCI scorer since 2008-09, I wanted to continue the association. It was during my scoring stint in the Women’s World Cup 2013, that I came across a woman umpire, Cathy Cross. The New Zealander inspired me to take up umpiring. I would say the initial little steps in the journey were taken right there.

Janani: I have been watching cricket since the early 90s and soon started following David Shepherd and S. Venkataraghavan. I initially thought that only former players can get into umpiring. But I came to know through a friend at office that there is no such requirement. So, I continued to try and write the state panel exam and finally made it in 2015.