The Indian physically disabled team are set to be financially rewarded after their efforts last month, when they travelled to England and triumphed in the inaugural T20 Physical Disability World Cricket Series, defeating the hosts by 36 runs in the final in Worcester.
The tournament, designed for those with physical disabilities that do not involve visual and hearing impediments, or the use of wheelchairs, also featured teams from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, was being played for the first time, although disability cricket, in various forms, has been around since the 19th century. Delays in organising events such as this have been hampered in the past by arguments amongst countries and various cricketing bodies as to how disability should be defined, and which cricketers qualify for such events.
For example, there are separate events for those with learning disabilities, and those who are blind and deaf, and India are the only country currently who compete, at international level, across all three formats. England, for example, have a learning disability side, but are not represented at blind or deaf events, whilst Nepal have played in deaf and blind events, but do not participate in tournaments for physically disabled cricketers.
And disability cricket, in all its forms, is still largely restricted to men’s teams. Women with disabilities are struggling to get a foothold in the game at the moment.
These arguments explain, in part, why some of the traditional ICC countries – Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, for example – were not participating in last month’s event. In fact, the ICC has no role at all when it comes to disability cricket, preferring to leave it to various amateur organisations to exert enough pressure on national boards to give disabled teams official recognition.
The problem is also financial. Due to legal reasons, the tournament in England could not be labelled the World Cup, and it had no sponsor. In fact, as far as many cricket fans were concerned, the event largely flew under the radar altogether, and was hardly reported in the mainstream media. Even India’s participation in the event was not guaranteed until the last minute.
There has also been little monetary support for disabled players. The BCCI (Board Control Cricket India), whilst conferring recognition to the Indian Physically Disabled Team, had initially just restricted themselves to praise on social media for the team’s achievements, and refrained from giving any financial assistance to them.
That is able to change, however, after the BCCI belatedly announced on Friday that the team are set to receive major cash rewards, together with key support staff, and the Disabled Cricket Association. However, it has not yet been announced the amount of money that will be given to individuals, or their organisation.
