The International Cricket Council has announced the match officials panel for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, with four Indians included among the umpires and match referees for the marquee tournament.
Janani N, Vrinda Rathi and Gayathri Venugopalan have been named in the umpiring panel, while GS Lakshmi has been selected as one of the four match referees for the event, which begins on June 12 in England and Wales.
The upcoming edition will mark the third consecutive Women’s T20 World Cup to feature an all-female officiating panel, with 14 umpires and four match referees set to oversee 33 matches in the 12-team tournament.
Among the Indian contingent, Gayathri Venugopalan is set to make her Women’s T20 World Cup debut. She joins fellow first-time appointees Candace La Borde, Kerrin Klaaste and Shathira Jakir Jesy in the umpiring panel.
The ICC highlighted the growing strength of women officials in international cricket while announcing the appointments.
“The increasing depth of high-performing female match officials in international cricket is a powerful marker of the sport’s progress, with the consistently high standards demonstrated in bilateral series and previous ICC women’s events underpinning these well-earned selections for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026,” the ICC said in a statement.
Experienced Indian match referee GS Lakshmi retains her place after also officiating in the 2024 edition. Lakshmi continues to be one of the most prominent female match referees in world cricket and has previously officiated in multiple ICC events.
Australia’s Claire Polosak remains the most experienced umpire on the panel and is set for her sixth Women’s T20 World Cup appearance, having already officiated in 22 matches at the tournament, the most by any umpire in the competition’s history.
ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said the panel reflects the governing body’s commitment toward greater representation in cricket officiating.
“This panel of match officials for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 reflects the ICC’s commitment to expanding the scope of representation to all facets of the sport,” Gupta said.
“We are delighted to see the progress made by these officials and the elevated standards of officiating they demonstrated during ICC CWC 2025. As we prepare to deliver what will be the biggest women’s sporting event in the world, this selection will serve to elevate the meaning associated with the athletic spectacle,” he added.