Female umpire Sathira Zakir Jessy has been appointed as a match official in the three-match T20 International series between Bangladesh and Netherlands.
Sathira Zakir, a former cricketer of Bangladesh national Women's Cricket team, will officiate all three matches to be held in Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
She will be seen as fourth umpire in the first and third T20 while will act as TV umpire in the second game, according to the match official lists sent by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday.
Neeyamur Rashid Rahul will act as match referee while Morshed Ali Khan, Tanvir Ahmed and Masudur Rahman Mukul will stand as on-field umpire in all three matches.
Netherlands are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on August 26 with the T20Is to be played on 30 August, 1 September, and 3 September at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Following the series, the Bangladesh team will travel to the UAE for the Asia Cup.
Sathira is likely to officiate matches in the Women's ODI World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka next September. Being appointed as match official for the Bangladesh and Netherlands series is seen as a dress rehearsal for her before going to the World Cup.
In April of the last year, she worked as an on-field umpire in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Prime Bank Cricket Club. In July 2024, she officiated matches in the Women's Asia Cup T20. In December, she stood as umpire in the Under-19 Women's Asia Cup T20 tournament held in Malaysia.
She was the only umpire from Bangladesh in the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup held in Malaysia in January this year. Before starting umpiring career, Sathira played two One Day Internationals and one T20 for Bangladesh.