GS Lakshmi

Former India cricketer GS Lakshmi is set to become the first woman match referee to oversee a men's ODI when she officiates the opening match of the third series of the World Cup League 2 in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.

India's GS Lakshmi,51, who first officiated as a match referee in domestic women's cricket in 2008-09, has overseen three women's ODI matches and three women's T20I matches. She has now become the first woman to be appointed to ICC's international panel of match referees and will be eligible to officiate in international games with immediate effect.

India's GS Lakshmi, the first woman ever in the ICC international panel of match referees, will be the match referee for the Women's World Cup final between England and Australia here on Sunday. Lakshmi also has the distinction of being the first woman match referee in men's ODIs, having stood in the role during the World Cup League 2 in the UAE in December 2020.

Nitin Menon is the lone Indian in the ICC's list of umpires for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup in Australia, where an unprecedented six women will be in the match officials team for the tournament.

GS Lakshmi broke barriers in cricket officiating. She became the first woman ICC match referee in 2019. Lakshmi will now be part of an all-women panel for the upcoming ODI World Cup. Her journey began in Jamshedpur, overcoming academic hurdles with sports. Lakshmi played domestic cricket and later coached. She encourages more women to pursue umpiring.

The ICC has announced a 13-member all-female panel of match officials for the Women's T20 World Cup in the UAE from October 3 to 20. Indian officials GS Lakshmi and Vrinda Rathi are part of this panel. The tournament kicks off with Bangladesh vs Scotland, while India faces New Zealand on October 4.

In a significant first for world cricket, the ICC on Friday named an all-female panel of match officials, including the Indian trio of GS Lakshmi, Vrinda Rathi and Janani Narayanan, for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Kim Cotton and Jacqueline Williams have been named the on-field umpires for Sunday's ICC Women's T20 World Cup final in Cape Town. Five-time champions Australia and hosts South Africa will lock horns in the tournament finale. New Zealander Cotton will oversee her second consecutive Women's T20 World Cup final.

South Africa pacer Shabnim Ismail has been reprimanded by the ICC for using inappropriate language during the Women's Cricket World Cup semi-final against England in Christchurch on Thursday. According to an ICC release, Ismail was found to have breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.

The BCCI has denied permission to five of its top women's cricketers to play in the global women's T20 Invitational tournament in 2022 from May 1-15 in Dubai, organized by Cricket Hong Kong and Fairbreak Global, an Australia-based global gender equality initiative, on the grounds that it is clashing with the last leg of the Board's domestic Women's T20 tournament, TOI has learnt.

Result of today’s quiz will be announced on May 31.

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Vrinda Rathi made history as India's first woman Test umpire in the one-off Test between India and England at DY Patil Stadium. She cleared the umpires exam conducted by the Mumbai Cricket Association in 2014 and the BCCI's exam in 2018. Rathi has officiated in 13 WODIs, 43 WT20Is, and was promoted to the ICC Development Panel of Umpires in 2020. In 2022, she stood in the Commonwealth Games and became the first woman umpire in a men's domestic fixture in India. She also officiated in the Women's T20 World Cup, Women's Premier League, and Asian Games.

The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 commences on October 3 in the UAE, featuring 10 teams divided into two groups. With matches in Dubai and Sharjah, the tournament promises thrilling encounters and aims for gender parity with equal prize money. Watch India, Australia, and England vie for the title, with the final on October 20.