India’s blind women cricketer chases history in first T20 World Cup

The ongoing first-ever Blind Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup has thrust the spotlight on India’s visually impaired women, who have overcome huge challenges to reach this stage.

They come from villages, farming families and small town hotels, many of whom have only learned the game in the past few years.

The T20 tournament, a six-team tournament featuring India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and the United States, kicked off on November 11 in Delhi. After several matches in Bangalore, the venue for the knockout rounds has now been moved to Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo.

The Indian team consists of 16 members representing nine states – Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, Assam and Bihar. Many athletes are introduced to the sport through school teachers, disability organizations or community camps.

“Most of the players are from rural areas,” said team manager Shikhar Shetty. “Language and culture are barriers, families and teachers are often reluctant to let them take up the sport, and even the introduction of blind cricket rules takes time. But now they all play with pride.”

Blind cricket uses a plastic ball with metal bearings to make the sound, and players are classified according to their degree of visual impairment. Depending on field of view, players are classified as B1, B2, or B3, and teams must contain all three. The ball clanked and was pitched underarm along the pitch. Level B1 runners are completely blind and hit with runners for safety, and every run they complete counts as two.

The World Cup has six teams participating in a single round-robin tournament. India won all five matches and became the first team to advance to the semi-finals.

Deepika TC, captain of the Indian team, is a native of Karnataka and was blinded in an accident as a baby. Growing up in a farming family, she didn’t realize that sports would define her life.

Cricket was introduced to her through technical school, and despite her hesitation, her teacher encouraged her to try the sport. Over time, she said, the sport gave her direction and confidence.

Leading India to the World Cup means a lot to her.

“This is the most important moment in my life and that of my team. The sighted Indian women’s cricket team won the World Cup in Navi Mumbai earlier this month and we hope to win the double this month,” Deepika said.

She said the support from India’s women’s World Cup winner Jemima Rodriguez and men’s Test team captain Shubman Gill was very meaningful.

Ganga Kadam, the vice-captain of Maharashtra, comes from a family of nine siblings and her farmer father enrolled her in a blind school to ensure a stable future.

She played cricket casually until a mentor urged her to take it seriously. Learning to trust voice, timing, and direction can be challenging. The 26-year-old’s progress came from persistence rather than instant results, and she now inspires visually impaired girls in her village to take up sports.

Another member of the team, top-order batsman Anekha Devi, 20, hails from Jammu and Kashmir and was born blind. Her uncle, who was also visually impaired, encouraged her to attend a blind cricket camp in Delhi after school.

She remembers the early lessons as overwhelming, with unfamiliar sounds and techniques. But she adapted quickly and surprised the coaches with her mastery of the vocal ball system.

Within two years, she was on the national team and often spoke of wanting to be the role model she never was.

Her 18-year-old all-around teammate Phula Saren, who hails from a tribal community in Odisha, lost the sight in her left eye when she was five, and her mother lost her sight soon after. She discovered cricket through a teacher at a school for the blind.

Traveling to the competition was a challenge and convincing her family took time, but she persevered. Her turning point wasn’t a trophy – it was the realization that she belonged on the national team.

Meanwhile, Sunita Sarathe, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, did not take direct contact with cricket from school. She finished college, tried various jobs, and finally attended a blind cricket camp on the recommendation of a friend.

The sport felt “fast and complicated,” but she kept coming back. Coaches said she trained intensely because she felt she was “late.” She is now one of the most reliable fielders in India.

The London-based World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) has overseen the sport since 1996. While the men’s game has a long history, having hosted the first 50-over World Cup in 1998 and the first T20 World Cup in 2012, this year saw the first Women’s Blind Cricket World Cup.

Women’s blind cricket in India is still very young. The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) was established in 2011 to manage blind cricket across the country. Systematic selection for the women’s cricket team began in 2019, and they competed internationally for the first time in 2023, winning gold at the IBSA World Games in Birmingham that same year.

“We feel it is an injustice that we are not providing the same opportunities to visually impaired women as men,” CABI president Mahantesh GK said.

“It took a huge effort to set up this event. Funding was a challenge. Recruiting the team was also a challenge. But we persevered. The response now from central and many state governments, sponsors, business community and the public has been outstanding. The future will be even better.”

The World Cup semi-finals and final will be held in Colombo, with the final taking place on Sunday. All matches are broadcast live on CABI’s YouTube channel and the state-run Prasar Bharati platform, while matches in India are also televised live on national broadcaster Doordarshan, significantly raising the profile of the sport.

“As more and more countries field women’s teams, the standard and global influence of women’s blind cricket will rise rapidly,” Mr Mahantesh said.

Coach Shetty believes this visibility will change how families respond to girls participating in the sport.

“Now that people are watching these games live and seeing these women perform, families will feel more confident about allowing their daughters to compete. It will no longer be an uncharted path.”

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