Jessy appointed to officiate Women’s T20 WC matches

The International Cricket Council (ICC) named Bangladesh’s Shathira Jakir Jessy as one the umpires amongst 20 match
officials to stand in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia.

Jessy was the first female umpire appointed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board
and most recently stood at the 2024 Women’s T20 Asia Cup, having previously
represented her country as a bowler.

“Trailblazing Bangladeshi umpire Shathira Jakir Jessy is among 20 match
officials appointed to stand in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in
Malaysia,” the ICC said in a press release here today.

Jessy is joined by Candace La Borde and Dedunu De Silva, who were both part
of the match officials team for the inaugural tournament final that saw India
clinch the trophy.

South Africa’s Kerrin Klaaste, 26, has also been selected to umpire at the
tournament for a second time.

India’s pioneering officials, Narayanan Janani and Gayathri Venugopalan are
among those appointed to the tournament for the first time. They became the
first women to stand as on-field umpires in a men’s domestic fixture in
India, along with Vrinda Rathi.

Shivani Mishra, also part of the line-up, became the first female on-field
umpire to officiate in a men’s T20I in January 2019.

ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees– Sean Easey highlighted the
diversity of the officials appointed as he looked ahead to the tournament
that gets underway on January 18, with 14 nations represented including
Qatar, Ireland, the USA and Oman.

“Congratulations to the umpires and match referees who have been selected to
this event,” he said. “These individuals have earned selection by performing
well in bilateral cricket. It is a wonderfully diverse group, just like the
game that they represent.

“Similar to the players at this event, these officials have been identified
as having high potential. We are confident that they will perform well and
that some will progress to officiate at the higher levels of the game.”

David Gilbert, Dean Cosker, Reon King, and Trudy Anderson have been appointed
as match referees.

Match Officials for ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025
Umpires: Ashlee Gibbons (Australia), Shathira Jakir Jessy (Bangladesh),
Gayathri Venugopalan (India), Narayanan Janani (India), Aidan Seaver
(Ireland), Nitin Bathi (Netherlands), Rizwan Akram (Netherlands), Rahul Asher
(Oman), Saleema Imtiaz (Pakistan), Shivani Mishra (Qatar), Kerrin Klaaste
(South Africa), Dedunu De Silva (Sri Lanka), Vijaya Prakash Mallela (USA),
Candace La Borde (West Indies), Maria Abbott (West Indies) and Forster
Mutizwa (Zimbabwe)

Match referees: David Gilbert (Australia), Dean Cosker (England), Trudy
Anderson (New Zealand) and Reon King (West Indies). (BSS)