In search of exposure and encouragement :#Shubhda Bhosle.

 exposure and encouragement

History was made in Chennai when 58-year old Kathy Cross became the first woman umpire ever to officiate in the Women’s World T20 during the Pakistan vs West Indies game on Wednesday.

New Zealander Kathy and 27-year old Claire Polosak from Australia are the first woman umpires to be given the responsibility by the ICC in the tournament. Women umpires in India, however, continue to be a rarity.

One of them is Shubhda Bhosle, a PhD student at the Laxmibai National University of Physical Education (LNIP), Gwalior. Shubhda, part of the MPCA State panel of umpires since 2011, has stood in under-19 games for the State.

“I still play for my university. There is an age-limit for players and after that you either become a coach or a trainer, who essentially stays on the sidelines. An umpire, on the other hand, is the only person besides the players who remains on the field through a game,” Shubhda told The Hindu on why she took up the job.

“I gave my first exam in 2008 when the organisers fell short of the minimum number of candidates (25). I completed the Level 1 exam the same year in Indore and joined the State panel in 2011. Till then, umpiring was not something I had thought of at all,” the chirpy 25-year-old added.

Little support

In the 1980s, Sumathi Iyer took tentative steps into umpiring but there was little support and no recognition back then. Things haven’t changed much since then.

“A player takes at least 8-10 years to graduate to playing at the highest level in domestic cricket including the Ranji Trophy. We expect umpires to be at the same level after a three-day course and a couple of practice games. It’s not fair,” insists senior umpire S.K. Bansal, who was one of the two persons to conduct one such course for the BCCI in Nagpur four years back.

Even now, only those who have played the game at some level are interested in getting into umpiring. Gayathri Venugopalan used to play for Madras University before giving it up in 1998-99. “I moved to Delhi in 2004 and thought of picking up the game again, only to be told by (former international) Shubhangi Kulkarni that there was nothing in it monetarily. A shoulder injury in 2006 ended all hopes. That was when I thought of umpiring,” Gayathri, who officiates in the DDCA league, said.

What they all agree on is the need for more avenues and support to encourage women. “The BCCI Level 2 exams haven’t been held for a few years and clearing that is important before one can officiate in top-level games. Hopefully, it will happen soon. Kathy and Claire have given us hope,” Shubhda said.

Small step

Gayathri sees the development as a small step. “What I would love to see is women getting assignments on performance and not gender. At the end of the day, the laws of cricket are the same for all and men have been officiating women's game for ever so why not the other way around as well,” she said.

Bansal, though, has the last word.

“Umpiring has to be given more respect and seriousness. If we encourage more women to take it up and train them properly, there is no reason why we cannot have an international woman umpire in Tests as well.”