CHENNAI: The craze around cricket is beyond real. From smashing fours and sixers on the streets in summer to mastering fastballs within four walls, the sport can be played anytime, anywhere.
Recently, the grounds in schools and colleges across the state have been witness to wheelchair cricket with players practising for the ongoing league, catching the ball, sweating it out on the pitch, and experiencing the joy of bowling out a team.
So far, five matches of this kind have been conducted in Coimbatore and Chengalpattu, and two in Thoothukudi and Thiruvallur were held, rounding up semi-finals and finals in Chennai. The jersey launch for the league was done recently by sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin which read ‘I support wheelchair cricket’.
Breaking barriers
An MSME-registered entity ‘WheelChair Cricket League’ (WCCL) — in collaboration with rehabilitation centres and NGOs — is on a mission to help persons with disabilities to come out of their homes and make a career out of the sport, in six districts. “This league is conducted in different cities. Travelling gives them exposure to get in touch or communicate with people, helping them to overcome the inhibition,” says Jesvar Fernando, organiser.
After their first league in 2019, WCCL is conducting the second league with 18 matches this year in the state. Their arsenal of 90 players includes survivors of polio attacks, spinal cord injuries, and amputees. Rather than being trophy-based, these matches are conducted with a focus on awareness, bringing light to difficulties that persons with disabilities face with respect to travel, accommodation, and usage of toilets.
It also aims to sensitise people about the intricacies of disability and help form a positive, inclusive environment. “It gives the special people confidence to experience the game and promotes the thought that a career can be made out of this practice. To raise awareness of a game like this, is the reason to schedule matches in multiple locations,” adds Jesvar.
Meet the players
Every player has a story to tell and all players channel their inner Sachin Tendulkar when entering the pitch. The players pad their feet and hands to hit runs on the scoreboard. Among them, with five years of experience, the captain of Thoothukudi, Sankaravel, is a polio attack survivor. He has been playing cricket since childhood when the disease hit him. But he did not lose his spirit or love for the game. Sankaravel would play the game sitting on the ground and having a substitute to run. “Cricket has been my dream and practising the sport is my passion,” he says, adding that while women have a level playing field with men in the game, those with disabilities are still missing out.
Unaware of this game, Prakash was introduced to the game three-and-a-half years ago by friends from rehabilitation centres, who played for the state. From then, there was no stopping this Sivagangai-based player. An unfortunate accident left Prakash with a spinal cord injury and the 33-year-old expresses how the game has changed his perspective and had given him a purpose to live. “The league has helped me travel and experience the joy of touring places. I never thought I would be able to visit the beaches again. Once a match was conducted in Thoothukudi, my teammates and I went to the beach and felt the sand and water with our hands,” he shares.
For Ramachandran, a businessman from Karaikudi, the gentleman’s game had been in his life from an early age. Having a keen knowledge of the game and showing the potential to excel, the 40-year-old was selected for the state team one-and-a-half years ago. “I played a series in Bhopal. Looking at my performance, I was invited to play at different places in the country. Playing a series in Mumbai, I won the Man of the Match award. Followed by a series in Kerala, Man of the Match and Man of the Series was bagged by me,” he says, adding that the game helps him stay mentally free and physically fit. Willpower is everything; if you are determined enough, you could achieve everything, the player believes.
Vellore-based Santhosh began playing cricket and later branched into wheel badminton and archery. Adding to the list of achievements, the sportsperson bagged third place in the badminton league at the state level and made it to the national levels in Lucknow. “The competition was tough there. The lack of professional equipment and training resulted in not winning the competition. If supported with a proper wheelchair, then national-level competition can also be won,” he opines. Most players use the medical wheelchair provided by the government and face difficulties in affording a professional wheelchair.
Roadblocks to access
However, players generally are not permitted to play or practise on regular grounds or stadiums. As the players are in wheelchairs, the owners of the properties express concern over the maintenance of the pitch. “The turf in cricket stadiums is of mud. Not everyone uses a professional wheelchair, so the wheels might get printed and the pitch gets damaged,” says the organiser. The players believe that if they are given a proper ground or a stadium to practise, their quality of the game will improve.
With no access to stadiums, the cricketers resort to practising in the government of college grounds. Travelling to these sessions proves difficult as players have to take buses to locations 50 km away and not every vehicle is disabled-friendly. Hence, practice is not regular in some districts and the players come together once a week.
Each player is under the care of a coach. As half of the players have spinal cord injuries, strength training is a must. A medical ball of 2 kg is used for throwing and catching to strengthen the hip. In wheelchair cricket, the pitch is measured at 17 m and the boundary length is 35 m-54 m as opposed to mainstream cricket’s 20 m. The weight of the ball is similar: 159-167 grams.
During league matches, commuting by train is a difficult task, with lack in facilities to accommodate several wheelchairs in compartments and, lack of accessible rail toilets. “People with polio can manage with a stick, but the players with spinal cord injury who have no sense of their own body struggle the whole journey,” says Jesvar. In such situations, a temporary toilet is built so that they could concentrate only on the game and overcome these challenges.
Despite such hurdles, players come forward to play the game because it helps them calm all their intrusive thoughts.
Way ahead
With the ambitious plan of forming 36 cricket teams in all districts in a year, the organisers are in talks with rehabilitation centres and NGOs to form a team each in Tiruchy, Salem and Coimbatore. A training camp is planned where 30 players will be chosen from this league, and corporates have stepped in to train the players.
“Not only cricket, but many people are also not aware of para-sports, so we thought to take this practice as a medium, reach to interior rural areas of districts,” shares Jesvar, adding that they plan to form the first wheelchair cricket women’s team very soon.
On the international playing field, the president of Sri Lanka’s Wheelchair Cricket Association has requested a friendly match between the countries. Sponsoring money for the WCCL league, the president of Qatar’s Deaf Cricket Association is vying for a chance to see the game so a similar team and the sport can be initiated in their country. Garnering support, a social worker from Kazakhstan has come forward to sponsor the team. Locally, Motivation India — a wheelchair manufacturing company — has agreed to supply wheelchairs at 50% of manufacturing cost.
Gaining international coverage, the players request sponsors in the country to extend their support and corporates to recognise their potential. As finals inch closer, the players gear up in hopes of crowded stands, cheers, and a supportive audience.
The finals will be conducted on August 12 and 13.
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