Simone Biles once said, “You make your own luck. You make it in training”. This has turned into a reality for members of the Indian women’s cricket team for the blind. They turned around their luck with their training even before the existence of a team and became the first team to make history. Such incidents give hope to women and other underprivileged communities. This article addresses the team members and their recent activities.
A breakthrough for the team and for cricket
The women’s cricket team for the blind was finally formed on April 11th of this year. It’s indeed an important event of honour in history. Though the CABI had been considering the decision and had already announced it in 2020, it was finally feasible this year. The trials for the women’s team were held in Bhopal, and the final list was released on April 11th. The team is headed by Sushma Patel from Madhya Pradesh.
The humble team:
The team members come from struggling families, and some are themselves daily wageworkers. Some of them are quite young, and the captain herself is only 20 years old. Jhilli, who is an all-rounder in the team, is an orphan who supports herself as a daily wager. She is only 13 years old and is one of the youngest on the team. She accompanied the captain in their first match against Nepal. The Vice Captain, Gangavva Harijann, is from Karnataka.
Recent activities of the team:
The first match for the team was T20 cricket against Nepal on April 26th. They lost very close to a one-run difference. They had scored a spectacular 173 runs, including seven wickets. In an amazing twist, the next day they beat the Nepal team with the same 173 runs, with Nepal having scored 172 on April 27. They won their first match in the T-20 Bilateral Cricket Series.
The team is indeed reaching new heights of their dreams, has become an icon of inspiration to the country and especially to women, and is expected to continue their extraordinary performances.
