Rithika Sree is standing in the middle of cricket grounds in Coimbatore today, white coat on, officiating league matches with the full backing of the local cricket administration. It has taken years of persistence, a period of profound personal transition, and the quiet courage to keep going when the easiest option was to walk away. For a transgender umpire who began her career in Salem in 2021, the journey to where she stands now has been anything but straightforward.
A childhood thought that became a calling
Cricket found Rithika Sree long before she found a way into it professionally. She told ANI, “My name is Rithika Sree, and in 2019, when I was working in Mohali, I used to watch IPL matches. I had a thought to become an umpire when I was a boy, and searched through websites on how to become an umpire. I came to know that in my own district’s panel, I should be an umpire, next in the state panel, and next in the BCCI panel. As I was working in ITI, during the lockdown period, I was working in Punjab, and job opportunities were given only to domestic people, so I returned to my home town, Salem.”
The pandemic that ended her time in Punjab set her on a path she had been quietly preparing for. Born as Muthuraja in Salem, Tamil Nadu, Rithika returned home and began chasing the ambition that had taken root while watching cricket from a distance.
Institutional support opens the door in Coimbatore
After her transition, Rithika’s path back onto the field required more than her own determination to clear. She said, “Initially, I was not allowed into the playgrounds, but with the support of CDCA, I was permitted to enter the premises. Their belief in me gave me the opportunity to umpire in the ongoing league matches. The umpire committee has extended full support, and now I am freely officiating in league games.”
That backing came through Jayaraman, her original mentor in Salem, who found no vacancy for her there but refused to leave her without options. He connected her with Ramesh, the Umpire Committee Chairman of the Coimbatore District Cricket Association, who moved quickly to bring her into the fold.
The weight of a secret and the moment it was shared
For a significant stretch of her early career, Rithika kept something deeply personal to herself. She said, “She asked me to speak to him, but out of fear, I said that if I revealed this, I might lose my job and career, as he is the umpire committee chairman, so I did not tell him. However, Jayaraman’s wife offered reassuring words and conveyed this to her husband herself.”
Jayaraman’s reaction was one of affirmation rather than judgment. He pointed to the government’s own recognition of the third gender as his reasoning, assured Rithika of his full support, and encouraged her to undergo surgery when she felt ready — framing it not as a barrier to her career but as a step toward securing one.
Transition, surgery, and the road back to the crease
Rithika relocated to Coimbatore in 2024, where her gender-affirming surgery was completed and where she subsequently settled. She said, “After a year, he told me to go ahead with the process of transitioning. In 2024, I came to Coimbatore for the surgery, which was completed, and I settled here. After the surgery, I informed Jayaraman that my transition was complete and that I had identified as a third gender, and I requested an opportunity to continue as an umpire. He asked me to wait, requested a rejoining letter, and said he would inform me after speaking with the association.”
Jayaraman followed through regardless — steering her toward Coimbatore and the connection that would eventually return her to the field.
How she found umpiring — and nearly walked away from it
Rithika’s relationship with officiating did not begin smoothly. At a point early in her career with the Salem Cricket Association, she reached a crossroads. She said, “After returning to my native place, through a search on the website, I contacted Salem District Association Umpire Committee Chairman Jayaraman. He promised that he would give me a chance and that was the beginning of my career as an umpire in the name.”
Jayaraman’s belief in her proved decisive. Despite early errors and vocal doubters around her, she persisted — and went on to officiate successfully in more than 90 per cent of her matches, a record that reflected how far she had come once given the space and support to grow.
Rithika Sree has built something far greater than a career in cricket officiating. Her story is a precise account of what it costs to persist — and what becomes possible when the right people choose to believe in you.
