ERODE: The Erdoe Railway Station was its usual busy self. Vendors plying their trade; passengers awaiting their trains in the cacophony that has to come to define India’s train-travel culture. Probably, lost in their own world were the multitude at the station for they missed the arrival of a set of heros, fresh back home after their on-field exploits in the cricketing arena. No, there was no Kohli, Sharma as any other man in blue. These men were of the Tamil Nadu team that emerged runner up in the recently concluded National Physically-challenged Cricket Tournament.
Amid the group was a duo that bagged the best bowler and batsman awards -- Erode’s Manivanan the former and Theni’s Sivakumar the latter. However, there was no fanfare, no sound of crackers to welcome them. Officials from the government department or sports federation were also not present at the station. On information, a few reporters reached the spot. The tourney took place in Jaipur between November 28 and December 3.
Team Manager Hari Chandran of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for Disabled told TNIE, “Two years ago also, the team was second in the tournament, but neither then nor now they got any recognition or support. The players are from poor background and even cannot afford to buy shoes, cricket kits and the like. For the past few years, several individuals have been helping them to make it to the tournaments.”
The players said that actor Sivakarthikeyan, Indian cricketer Vijay Shankar and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for Disabled Chairman Ramesh Kannan have been footing the bill of their expenses. While Sivakarthikeyan funded the cricket kits, Kannan paid for the transportation and food, and Shankar bought them the bats.
The State team players are Sachin Siva, Rajesh Kumar, Siva Kumar, Raj Maheswaran, Santhosh, Veera Raj, Mahes, Manivanan, Lingaraj, Sri ram, Arunkumar, Lakshmana and VasanthKumar. Teams from Karnataka, Rajasthan, Utrakhand, Jarkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu participated in this national level tournament.
Listing out the travails of the players, Manivanan said that they are happy to bring laurels to the State but had to cross many hurdles. “Apart from gaining sponsors, getting a job is equally difficult. Most of us do blue-collar jobs and when we take ten-day leave to attend the matches, the employers usually throw us out of job,” he added.
The team manager said that it would be helpful if corporate companies sponsor the team and the government provides job to the achievers.
Where help came from
The players said that actor Sivakarthikeyan, Indian cricketer Vijay Shankar and TN Cricket Association for Disabled Chairman Ramesh Kannan have been footing the bill of their expenses. While Sivakarthikeyan funded cricket kits, Kannan paid for transportation and food, and Shankar bought them the bats.