ICC Announces All Women Panel for Women’s T20 World Cup

The upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup will begin on 10th February in South Africa. In a first, ICC has announced a panel of 13 officials all women for the competition. The team of 3 match referees, 10 umpires, and officials from seven nations was unveiled by the ICC on Friday. Out of the 13 women officials named for the Women’s T20 World Cup, 3 are from India. GS Lakshmi will be one of 3 referees in the competition and Vrinda Rathi (India), as well as N Janani (India), will act as umpires.

In addition, the board will feature 4 extra female match officials than that of the 9 at the current Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, making it the largest group of female match officials in an international ICC competition. Announcing the list of panelists, ICC accepted that it was a part of their planning to empower and increase the visibility of women in the sport.

This announcement is a reflection of our intent in this space: ICC general manager

“Women’s cricket has been growing rapidly in recent years and as part of that, we have been building the pathways to ensure more women have the opportunity to officiate at the highest level. This announcement is a reflection of our intent in this space and just the start of our journey where men and women enjoy the same opportunities across our sport. We are committed to continuing to support our female match officials and provide opportunities to showcase their talents on the global stage. I wish them all the best for the tournament,” ICC’s general manager of cricket, said.

10 teams will participate in the eighth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup. Teams are divided into two groups with Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Bangladesh in group A. Group B will have the West Indies, Pakistan, India, Ireland, and England. The final game of the Women’s T20 World Cup will be on 26th February. Cape Town, Gqeberha, and Paarl will host the group stage games and the finals will be at Newlands.

List of panelists for the Women’s T20 World Cup:

• GS Lakshmi (India)
• Shandre Fritz (South Africa)
• Michell Pereira (Sri Lanka)
• Sue Redfern (England)
• Eloise Sheridan (Australia)
• Claire Polosak (Australia)
• Jacqueline Williams (West Indies)
• Kim Cotton (New Zealand)
• Lauren Agenbag (South Africa)
• Anna Harris (England)
• Vrinda Rathi (India)
• N Janani (India)
• Nimali Perera (Sri Lanka)