Deaf Cricket Society struggling to find sponsors, affiliation; players seek support

First-ever Deaf T20 Cricket World Cup held at 

Teri Gram Cricket Ground in Gurugram

30.11.2018
It seemed like any other ordinary match being played at the Teri Gram Cricket Ground here on Friday before one noticed the striking absence of crowds and the usual buzz associated with the gentlemen’s game.

A closer look at the crowd communicating in sign languages was enough indication that the match was being played by the speech and the hearing-impaired.

Sri Lanka bundled India out for just 109 runs with three overs to spare, defending a modest target of 146, to lift the first ever Deaf-International Cricket Council(DICC) World Cup T20.

Former Australian speedster Bret Lee, the chief guest for the event’s closing ceremony, said: “I cannot imagine cricket without sound: on the field not hearing the appeals and the roars of the crowd, off the field not hearing teammates, or at home not hearing family. I just cannot imagine it.”

Calling the match fun and exciting, Mr. Lee said it was the job of the media to popularise this kind of cricket.

He said he was disappointed that the Australian team failed to make it to the finals.

Former Indian Captain and legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi said he found the match “quite competitive”, but there was a need to expose “this young talent to the world”.

Deaf Cricket Society (DCS) general-secretary Sumit Jain spoke of the Board for Control of Cricket in India's (BCCI) ignorance of their repeated requests for affiliation. “We have written to them for affiliation but got no response. The Deaf T20 Cricket World Cup got far more support than we could have ever hoped for. We are happy that people have come from all parts of the country to watch and support the teams,” he said.

He added that affiliation by the DICC had helped a lot.

The DICC chairman Stefan Pichowski said that they were using the language of cricket to spread the message and garner support to those who need it most.

The families of the cricketers rued the step-motherly attitude of the government to them. “My son works at the Railways. Even after a lot of requests, they are not allowing him for the trials [for the Indian team]. We have written to the BCCI multiple times but they have not responded,” said mother of 28-year-old cricketer Rohit Saini, a wicket-keeper-cum-batsman for the Indian team.

His father said that Rohit has been playing for 15 years now but sponsorship was a big hurdle.