Four Indians named in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup officials panel

The ICC has named four Indians in the match officials panel for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales. Janani N, Vrinda Rathi and Gayathri Venugopalan were selected as umpires, while GS Lakshmi was named match referee.

By Neelima

London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday named four Indians in the match officials panel for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held from June 12 to July 5 across venues in England and Wales.

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Janani N, Vrinda Rathi and Gayathri Venugopalan were included in the 14-member umpires panel, while GS Lakshmi was named among the four match referees for the 12-team tournament, which will feature 33 matches.

The 2026 edition will mark the third consecutive ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to feature an all-women panel of match officials.

Gayathri Venugopalan, Candace La Borde, Kerrin Klaaste and Shathira Jakir Jesy will make their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup umpiring debuts in this edition.

Nine officials from the 2024 tournament will return for the upcoming edition. Australia’s Claire Polosak is set to officiate in her sixth Women’s T20 World Cup and has stood in 22 matches so far, the highest by any umpire in the tournament’s history.

Jacquline Williams and Kim Cotton, who have officiated in 19 matches each, will reach the milestone of officiating in five Women’s T20 World Cups during the tournament.

Along with Lakshmi, Shandré Fritz and Michell Pereira will return as match referees from the previous edition, while New Zealand’s Trudy Anderson has also been included in the panel.

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said the panel reflected the governing body’s commitment to expanding representation across all facets of the sport. He added that the officials were selected following a comprehensive assessment of their performances during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.