Woman match referee in state league for 1st time

CHENNAI: Vijeylaxmi Narasimhan is set to become the first woman match referee in Tamil Nadu Premier League’s history as she has been named in the panel for Season 6.

Former Tamil Nadu player Vijeylaxmi has been officiating for the past four years and was selected as one of India’s representatives for the ICC 100% Cricket Future Leaders Programme last year. It is to be recalled that N Janani had created history last year by becoming the first woman umpire to officiate a TNPL match.

“This year, we have a match observer Vijeylaxmi. We are looking at promoting women’s cricket. We have been lagging in women’s cricket, so we are looking at ways to improve,” Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary RS Ramasaamy told DT Next on the sidelines of a media interaction here on Saturday.

Asked if the state association plans to introduce a women’s TNPL anytime in the future, Ramasaamy responded: “It is definitely in the agenda, but we have not given a serious thought about it. It maybe on a smaller scale.”