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HomeSport‘Badal pe paon hai’: India’s 1st women’s blind cricket team all set...

‘Badal pe paon hai’: India’s 1st women’s blind cricket team all set for their debut international series

The 17-member squad that forms India's first-ever women's national team for the blind will travel to Nepal from 25-30 April for a T20 bilateral series.

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Gurugram: Come 25 April, India’s cricket journey will hit another milestone, as the women’s blind cricket team take on Nepal in their first-ever international match.

For the 17-member squad that forms India’s first-ever women’s national team for the blind, it’s not just a dream come true. It’s a vindication of years of hard work.

“I never thought that I would be playing for the Indian team,” said Varsha, a 23-year-old all-rounder from Karnataka. “My parents used to worry because I am blind, but now they are very proud.”

Team captain Sushma Patel, from Madhya Pradesh, said her father earlier didn’t approve of her playing cricket. 

“Now he does,” she added. “After being selected as captain, people in my village said that this is because of my luck. But I will win the cup and show them that it is my hard work not luck.”

The Indian women’s blind cricket team is an initiative of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), which is run by the Differently-Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI), the only body recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to promote cricket involving players who are differently abled. 

“We wanted to launch this team for so many years. It took us time but finally it is done now,” said Shikha Shetty of CABI.

Talking about the team and the challenges faced, she added, “Language was the biggest barrier. The girls are from different backgrounds. From Karnataka, Odisha to Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Almost every player comes from a poor and village background.” 

The team will compete in a T20 bilateral series in Nepal between 25 and 30 April. The selection was done based on the players’ performances in recently concluded selection trials held in Bhopal. 


Also Read: Won World Cup but no fanfare—Jharkhand blind cricketer waits for better school for kids


Rules of the game

The team of 17 includes players with different degrees of visual impairment. There are 6 players from B1 category (completely blind), and 6 from B2 (partially blind) category. Five are from the B3 category (partially sighted). 

While the larger format of the game remains the same, the rules for blind cricket include some tweaks.

“There is some equipment that is different from regular cricket. One is the ball and the other is wickets,” said CABI president Mahantesh G. Kivadasannavar.

“The ball is significantly larger than a standard cricket ball and filled with ball bearings to provide audible cues. And the wickets are made of metal, so when the ball or bat hits the wicket, it creates a noise,” he added.

Bowlers can only bowl underarm. The delivery must pitch twice before reaching the batsman. The field is slightly shorter than in conventional cricket, with the boundaries being a minimum of 45 yards to a maximum of 55 yards.

CABI does not get any financial support from the BCCI, and is funded by the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, a National Award-winning NGO established in 1997 by Kivadasannavar and his childhood friend, the late Sugur Paramashivaiah Nagesh.

“Buying one pair of shoes is also a big thing for these girls, but CABI takes care of everything for them now,” said Shetty, who has worked with the trust for 13 years. “From clothes to shoes and food. We do not get any financial support from the BCCI yet. But we hope that they will do something for us soon.”

The Indian men’s blind cricket team has won the last three T20 world cups. 

In light of their success over the last decade, the T20 national trophy for visually-impaired women was introduced in 2019. As many as 150 women from seven different states participated.

The first national tournament was won by Odisha. Smriti Mandhana, vice-captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, became the tournament’s brand ambassador. Legendary West Indian cricketer Brian Lara showed his solidarity by attending the press conference at the launch of the tournament.

The second national tournament had cricketer Rajeshwari Gayakwad as the brand ambassador, and saw participation by 14 state teams. Karnataka emerged as the winner in the tournament.

In the third tournament, 16 teams competed for the title, with Odisha beating Karnataka in the finals to secure their second victory. 

India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been named brand ambassador for India’s blind women’s cricket team.

‘Dream come true’

The women in the team are burning with a desire to prove themselves to the world. 

“For people like me, who come from villages, it is difficult to come out and play,” said Patel, 20, who lost vision in one eye after an arrow pierced it while she was playing with her brothers.

“I was six when that happened. I can only see with my left eye but my vision is deteriorating. For a long time, I did not know what I would be doing with my life after that incident, but cricket has offered me a lifeline,” she told news agency PTI.

“It is a dream come true that I will get to lead India.”

Also from Madhya Pradesh, Priya is an all-rounder who is enjoying the training camp.

“Those people who want to do something in life, I want to tell them — do not get defeated by small failures, make them your partner and move forward with them,” added Priya, who is the tallest in the team, and considers former India captain Mithali Raj her favourite cricketer. 

She further spoke of a robust camaraderie among the team members. “I used to play for Madhya Pradesh, but we all play for India. There is no difference between us,” she added. “We try to learn languages from each other and the culture. In our free time, we discuss all those things.” 

Another member of the squad is 13-year-old Jhili Birua from Odisha, who is an orphan.

“I had to leave school as I did not have the required documents for enrolment,” she told PTI. “Now I do daily labour jobs in the day and play cricket in the evening,” said Jhili, who lost her mother when she was three years old while her father met with a fatal accident in 2020.

Speaking about the selection process, E. John David, the chairman of the CABI selection committee and the body’s general secretary, said 38 players were initially shortlisted for the selection trials based on their performances in national tournaments. 

He expressed confidence that the 17 players selected will emerge victorious in the upcoming tournament in Nepal.

With ANI inputs

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)


Also Read: Why blind cricketers in Pakistan are better off than six-time champions India


 

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