India has a population of nearly 70 million disabled people. Despite having lost advantage to us when it comes to physical abilities, their achievements are no less than that of a physically abled person.
In fact, there are even more laudable. The relevance of bringing these stats up in front of you is only to highlight the fact that India just won its second T20 Blind Cricket World Cup by beating Pakistan by 9 wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Cricket Association For the Blind In India
Cricket Association for the Blind in India or CABI is the main governing, organizing and developing body for blind cricket in the country. It has 24 state associations and over 25,000 players associated at various domestic level tournaments in India.
This organization is affiliated with the World Blind Cricket Council and to the Indian Paralympic Committee.
The organization conducts tournaments at District, State, Zonal and National levels. The initiative calls for a great round of applause and it needs to go more viral.
The Winning Team
After choosing first to bat, India had restricted Pakistan to 197/8 in 20 overs and they opened with a magnificent start.
The Blind Indian Cricket Team was captained by the very brilliant Ajay Kumar Reddy.
The Vice-Captain Prakasha Jayaramaiah was declared the star of the evening as he remained not-out with only a run short of hitting a century after hitting the winning shot.
The duo gave India the much-needed commanding start and kept up the momentum with ten runs per over for about ten overs. India was at 109/0 after 10 overs.
Ketan Patel and Jaffar Iqbal were the stars of the bowling department as both took two wickets with giving away 29 and 33 runs respectively.
Future Of Disabled Sports In India
Undoubtedly, the achievement is a striking example of a rise in awareness amongst the countrymen about the facilities that we offer to the disabled.
India is yet to become a completely disabled-friendly nation but innovative endeavors such as this bring limelight to the hidden spectra of the society that is working to build these people and utilize their strengths to their utmost potential.
As a citizen of this country, the laurels that our disabled countrymen have brought not only fills me with pride but with respect and honor for people who are promoting and funding these organizations.
The future of disabled sports in India is certainly bright. With athletes Mariyappan Thangavelu, Devendra Jhajharia, Deepa Malik and Varun Singh Bhati bringing us 4 medals at the 2016 Paralympics and now the Blind Cricket Team winning world cup, it can be said that ‘achhe din aarahe hain’.
Last but not the least, this calls for a huge amount of appreciation for these talented and hardworking people who even after the unfortunate hardships of life, have proven to us that nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
It motivates me to do better in life and be grateful for whatever life has blessed me with.
Image Credits: Google
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