India’s campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup ended before the knockout stages, but Indian cricket will still have representation in the final at Lord’s. When England meet Australia, one of the on-field umpires will be Vrinda Rathi, set to become the first Indian woman to umpire a Women’s World Cup final, as per a TOI report. GS Lakshmi will serve as the match referee, giving India two officials in the title decider.
For Rathi, it was the latest milestone in a journey that began not with an umpire’s counter, but with a cricket ball in her hand.
She wanted to play
Growing up in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Rathi was a medium pacer who represented Mumbai University for four years. She hoped to progress to the senior Mumbai side, but when that opportunity did not come, she stayed in the game by taking up scoring and then umpiring. Experienced officials noticed her attention to detail, and former BCCI umpire Ganesh Iyer encouraged her to switch to the other side of the game.
Climbing the ladder
Rathi cleared the Mumbai Cricket Association’s umpiring examination in 2014 and the BCCI’s national qualification in 2018. In 2020, she and Janani Narayanan became the first Indian women to be inducted into the ICC Development Panel of Umpires. That promotion opened the door to more international appointments and a steadily growing portfolio across formats.
Breaking new ground
In January 2023, Rathi became one of the first women to stand as an on-field umpire in a Ranji Trophy match, when Goa faced Pondicherry. She has also officiated in major women’s tournaments, including the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Asian Games in Hangzhou, the Women’s Premier League final and India’s one-off women’s Test against England in 2023. Her appearance in that Test made her India’s first woman Test umpire.
Why this final mattered
Rathi had built a resume that included 77 Women’s T20 Internationals, 20 Women’s ODIs, one women’s Test and three Ranji Trophy matches by the time of the final. That experience is why the ICC trusted her with one of the biggest assignments in world cricket. With GS Lakshmi also on the field as match referee, India will have representation in one of the biggest matches in women’s cricket despite the women’s team failing to secure a semi-final berth.
For more than a decade, Rathi had built her career one appointment at a time, and at Lord’s she reaches a stage no Indian woman umpire had reached before.