Nagpur: In yet another feather in her cap, Nagpur’s Ankita Guha has earned a place on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) International Panel of Umpires. Already the first woman from Vidarbha to be included in the BCCI’s panel of umpires, Ankita has now become the first individual, man or woman, from the region to make it to the world’s top cricketing body.
Women’s cricket is currently witnessing its finest phase of growth, and the role of officials is as crucial as that of the players in sustaining the sport’s momentum. At the highest level, only quality and consistency matter, and Ankita has proven both in abundance.
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Her reputation as a dependable umpire was further cemented last season when she was chosen to officiate in the Eliminator and Final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The high-profile assignments not only showcased her competence but also underlined her standing as one of the most promising umpires in the women’s game today.
“There are four men and four women Indian umpires on the ICC International Panel of Umpires. BCCI recommends the names and then those get approved from the ICC. There was one place vacant in Indian women’s category and BCCI proposed my name. After being inducted, I also attended ICC’s two-day regional workshop that was conducted at Colombo in Sri Lanka. Apart from Indians, Sri Lankan and Bangladesh officials also were present in the workshop,” informed Guha, a former Vidarbha leg-spinner, while talking to local media.
After an active cricket career of over sixteen years for Vidarbha (2002-2018), Ankita had decided to stay connected to the sport she loved. She was thinking of becoming a Match Referee but as it turned out, she got into umpiring. “I appeared for the VCA State panel examination and later for the BCCI examination in 2022. By June 2023, I was a BCCI umpire,” she said. And things moved pretty fast for the confident young official.
“In last two domestics seasons, I have officiated in as many as 73 matches. I had been fourth umpire in six games of India-West Indies bilateral series which had three T20s and an equal number of ODIs. I made myWPL debut this year and got seven matches as onfield umpire, one as TV umpire and two as reserve umpire. This was the initial assignment. My good performance helped me get those two important games, Eliminator and the Final,” she said with a sense of pride.
Ankita feels being a player helps in umpiring and is in favour of more women opting for the job as a career. “As a player you have that sense of being on the ground and know the sport. Though umpiring in itself is a demanding job, it is a bit easy for former players to soak up the pressure. With women’s cricket ever growing after it came into BCCI fold, the national body itself is encouraging more and more females to come into (umpiring) profession. If you have passion for cricket and are ready to do the hard yards, umpiring is definitely a good career option,” she added.
Ankita made it a point to express gratitude towards her well-wishers. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my mother, sister, family, VCA, BCCI and my office Joint Controller of Defence Accounts Office, Indian Air Force, Vayusena Nagar for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout my journey,” she concluded.
