Legends League Cricket 2022: Union Minister Smriti Irani applauds all-women match official initiative

Union Cabinet Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smriti Irani, met the team of five women umpires and match officials who are the officials in the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC). The meeting occurred at her residence in New Delhi on Saturday. It is a first-of-a-kind initiative in Indian cricket where International Cricket Council (ICC)-approved match officials Gayathri Venugopalan, Shivani Mishra, Kim Cotton, Shubhda Bhosale, and GS Laxmi are officiating in a men’s tournament in India. The Honourable Minister complimented the fantastic endeavour of LLC on promoting women umpires. Unique badges of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ were also presented to the officials they would don during the remaining league fixtures.

“Women have been making the nation proud in the field of sports, and the women officials of Legends League Cricket being in the limelight is a shining example. It is a matter of particular pride and privilege that they stand with me today in support of the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme of ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’. I am particularly delighted that one of the officials who has joined us today has benefited from the ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojana’. It makes us immensely happy that LLC’s team of Women officials will now wear the buttons which proudly say ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ in matches,” said Irani.

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Smt. @smritiirani ji, Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, called upon the All-Women officiating team of @LLCT20 to congratulate them on being pioneers & role models for women everywhere #LegendsLeagueCricket #womenempowerment #BetiBachaoBetiPadhao pic.twitter.com/gqNcoGJxZl

— Legends League Cricket (@llct20) September 24, 2022

“Legends League Cricket is a great initiative that has given us this wonderful opportunity to officiate and prove that we are not better or worse, but good enough. We feel fortunate to be the pioneers of an all-women’s team of match officials in charge of a men’s cricket league. I want to thank Mrs Smriti Irani for taking the time to meet us and for the improvement that ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ andolan [initiative] has made in the right direction of statistics,” stated Gayathri Venugopalan, one of the LLC on-field umpires.

The aim happens to be about promoting and talking about women’s empowerment and its significance, particularly in sports, alongside improvement in sex ratio and a decrease in infant mortality courtesy of the campaign. The LLC got underway on September 16 and will terminate on October 5. The league stage games are currently happening in Delhi.