‘Divyang’ cricketers see hope under BCCI’s fold
CHANDIGARH: A 96-metre six puts him in the league of Kieron Pollard, MS Dhoni or Rahul Tewatia, who all hit that distance in IPL 2021, except Jaswant Singh Rajpurohit does not have the use of one leg. The differently abled Rajpurohit, who is from a village called Radawas in Rajasthan’s Pali district, is a professional cricketer. Rajpurohit, who bowls using crutches, and has a penchant for hitting big, thrilled all those who were present at the recently concluded HAP Cup 2021, a four-team T20 tournament for differently abled cricketers in Panchkula.
Rajpurohit, 28, has been playing for a while, but at this year’s tournament, he got some very welcome news—that differently abled cricket had been brought under the BCCI’s umbrella. “It has been more than eight years that I started playing divyang cricket,” he said. “I earn money from the matches I play. It’s incredible that the BCCI has recognised divyang cricket and we will be now representing India under the BCCI. My family back in Rajasthan is so delighted with this.” Rajpurohit made his debut for India in 2016 playing against Afghanistan. He trains at a cricket academy in Barmer run by former differently-abled India cricketer Iqbal Khan.
The BCCI took differentlyabled cricket under its wing in December, approving the formation of a Differently-Abled Cricket Committee (DACC) at its AGM. In April last year, the BCCI Apex Council decided to recognise the Differently-Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI) as the only body to promote cricket among physically challenged, deaf, blind and wheelchair participants.
Polio-affected Ravikant Chauhan, who played for India and is a part of BCCI’s DACC, has been organising differently-abled cricket tournaments since 2012 and is hopeful that the BCCI recognition will go a long way in promoting their sport. “We wanted to propose conducting a Test match in the coming months at home. Unfortunately, the pandemic is affecting sporting activities. As soon as things are better, the committee will send a revised proposal for the remaining year. We want to involve women cricketers too in our fold and give them a platform,” said Chauhan.
Differently-abled cricketers in India also found a patron in 2020 in former Australia captain Steve Waugh. That year, just after the first lockdown ended, Waugh and his manager Harley Medcalf were in India to do research for Waugh’s book, Spirit of Cricket. Waugh was invited to watch a match in Gurugram and he was so impressed that he dedicated his book to those cricketers.
“They call it disabled cricket. It’s the wrong name, it’s enabled in every way,” he told a journalist then. “It’s pure artistry the way they were bowling”. Medcalf started a fund-raising campaign for India’s differently abled cricketers the same year. “Steve Waugh and his manager did a great job to uplift our cricketers,” said Chauhan. “This March, we will be collaborating with them again.” On their part, the BCCI’s committee is working on roadmap for the development of the sport as well as how it will be funded. “BCCI will do its best to assist the differently-abled cricket and provide necessary support and resources,” said the board’s secretary Jay Shah.