G.S Lakshmi became the First Female Match Referee to oversee a Men’s One-Day International

India’s Gandikota Sarva Lakshmi created history on Sunday, 8th December 2019 by becoming the First Female Match Referee to oversee a Men’s One-Day International match at the ongoing third series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 match between the host’s UAE and the United States of America (USA) at Sharjah.
Earlier this year on May 14, G.S Lakshmi was appointed as the first-ever women match referee by the International Cricket Council’s (ICC), International Panel of March Referees.
The 51-year-old was born in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh and grew up in Jamshedpur where she began playing cricket. She was the match referee in all 4 matches during this year’s Women’s T20 Challenge. In October 2019, she was named as one of the three-match referees for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier, becoming the first woman to be named as the match referee of an ICC event.