NEW DELHI: The first-ever Women's Blind Cricket Team will represent India in a bilateral series against Nepal which will be played at Pokhara and Kathmandu in Nepal from April 25 to April 30.
The team will play five T20s announced Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) in a press conference held in the city. This is a major development in the efforts of CABI and Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled to uplift the women players in the game.
The probables for the team were selected from the National Championships held earlier in the year and the final team was selected after a national camp held in Bhopal. The team will be captained by Sushma Patel who is a B3 Category player. The 17 players are from 10 different states of India and the Indian team is gearing up to give their best in the bilateral series.
Harmanpreet Kaur, Captain of the Indian Women's Team is the Brand Ambassador of the Indian Women's Blind Cricket Team.
"I am proud and happy to be associated with the team. They are an inspiration to many young girls who want to overcome their disabilities and play the sport at the highest level. I get more energy when I see these girls and helps me give encouragement to achieve for the country", said Harmanpreet Kaur who joined the press conference virtually.
India will play Nepal in five T20s in which the first two matches will be played at the Pokhara Cricket Ground, Kaski and the remaining matches will be played at the Mulapani Cricket Ground, Kathmandu.
Talking about the efforts for uplifting the women's game, G.K Mahantesh, President, CABI said, "This is the result of our continuous efforts to support and bring our girls in the forefront of the game. I believe that this tour will be a great exposure for our team and we hope to provide them with many more such tours in the future. This is just the first step towards making the game accessible for more women and encouraging them to take up the sport and our team will be the trendsetters for a huge change for women's Blind Cricket in India. I wish our girls the very best for the series."
The Inauguration for the Women's Bilateral T20 Cricket Series for the Blind 2023 will be held on 25th April at the Pokhara Cricket Ground followed by the opening match. The team will arrive on 23rd April in Kathmandu.
"We have selected our best possible team for this series from a pool of very talented players. We believe that these players who have created history will make all the country proud and I wish our players the very best for the series", said E. John David, Secretary General, CABI.
Harmanpreet Singh joined the press conference virtually. Dr. G.K Mahantesh, President, CABI; Mr. E. John David, General Secretary, CABI; Shailender Yadav, Secretary, North Zone, CABI and Sushma Patel, Captain, Indian Women's Blind Cricket Team were also present at the occasion.
We request your esteemed media to promote this extensively to boost the morale of Visually Impaired women of our country.
Indian Women's Blind Cricket Team Squad:
B1 Category (Completely blind): Varsha U, Valasanaini Ravanni, Simu Das, Padmini Tudu, Killaka Sandhya, Priya
B2 Category (Partially blind- Vision upto three meters): Gangavva Neelappa Harijan - Vice Captain, Pritiben Babubhai Desai, Sandra Davis Karimalikkal, Basanti Hansda, Prity Prasad
B3 Category (Partially blind- Vision upto six meters): Sushma Patel (C), M Satyavathi, Phula Saren, Jhili Birua, Ganga Sambhaji Kadam, Deepika T C
Schedule
25th April - 10 AM - Pokhara Cricket Ground, Kaski
26th April - 9:30 AM - Pokhara Cricket Ground, Kaski
28th April - 9 AM - Mulpani Cricket Ground, Kathmandu
29th April - 9 AM - Mulpani Cricket Ground, Kathmandu
30th April - 9 AM - Mulpani Cricket Ground, Kathmandu.