Redefining Ability! Visually Impaired Children Thrill Crowd at Kalarava ’19 State-Level Cricket Tournament
- Redefining Ability! Visually Impaired Children Thrill Crowd at Kalavara- 2019 is a two-day State Level Inter-School Cricket Tournament & Cultural Fest organized by Sahodaya, St Aloysius College (Autonomous) Mangaluru on 13 and 14 January 2019.
- “I want to tell all differently abled people who want to play sports that we should look at our disability like God’s gift. We should use it well. Some of us think that we will not be able to do anything in life just because we are disabled. That’s not right. Everyone gets opportunities. I gained chances too and I was able to see a little success,” Padmashree Lachma Shekhar Naik, the former captain of the Indian blind cricket team
Mangaluru: Just like me, many of you also will wonder how can visually impaired (Blind) children can play India’s favorite game-Cricket. Before going further into the report, let’s learn more about Cricket for the Blind. While most of the rules associated with the sport remain the same, there are some changes done for blind cricket. The World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) frames the rules. According to WBCC, here is how Cricket for the Blind is played.
There are 3 types of players- B1 (Totally blind players); B2 (Partially blind); and B3 (Partially sighted players). The team composition is 11 players as usual. But the composition should be as – A minimum of 4 B1 players; 3 of B2 players; A maximum of 4 B3 players; Regarding runners for batsman- B1 shall have a runner; B2 has the option of a runner Batsman who has opted for a runner cannot act as a runner for another batsman A “one bounce” catch by a B1 player will result in the batsman being given out.
How do they classify sights : B1 – No light perception in either eye up to light perception, but inability to recognise shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction; B2 – From ability to recognise the shape of the hand up to a visual acuity of 2/60 or visual field of less than five degrees in the better eye after correction; B3 – From visual acuity above 2/60 up to visual acuity of 6/60 or a visual field of less than 20 degrees in better eye after correction.
How to identify B1,B2 and B3 persons on the field : B1 players will be distinguished on the field of play by a white wrist band to be worn on the right wrist or by one white stripe on the right upper arm of the playing shirt; B2 players will be distinguished on the field of play by a red wrist band to be worn on the right wrist or by two white stripes on the right upper arm of the playing shirt; B3 players will be distinguished on the field of play by a blue wrist band to be worn on the right wrist or by three white stripes on the right upper arm of the playing shirt.
How do they bowl: The bowling has to underarm. At the point of delivery, the arm has to be below the shoulder. Failure of this will result in a no-ball being called. The delivery is required to pitch at least twice when bowled to a batsman, but must not be rolling. Regarding the Procedure of play – The bowler has to say “ready?” to the batsman when he is set to bowl. To which the batsman has to respond by calling out “yes”. At the point of delivery, the bowler must say “play”. Failure to do so will result in a no-ball being called. A no ball will also be called if the call of “play”, is in the opinion of the umpire,
How the ball look like: The ball is considerably larger than the standard cricket ball and filled with ball bearings. The audible ball helps the player to sense the direction of the ball and play the game; How stumps look like- Wooden stumps or plastic, if the match is being played on an artificial surface. The color of the stumps shall be fluorescent orange or yellow. No bails used; How the bat look like-The regular cricket bat to be used with standard specifications; The pitch and the boundary- 22 yards, turf or synthetic grass surfaces. Boundary minimum of 45 yards to a maximum of 55.
Okay, now you know how Cricket is played by the Blind/Visually Impaired. Kalarava- 2019, a two-day State Level Inter-School Cricket Tournament & Cultural Fest for the Visually Impaired Children was organized by Sahodaya of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaluru held on 13 and 14 January 2019 at the Centenary Grounds. Sahodaya has been conducting several events for the visually impaired children for the last 3 consecutive years. Sahodaya, the Outreach Program for the empowerment of the Specially Abled was started in 2000 to educate the staff and the students of the college towards the issues and concerns of the specially-abled. For the last 18 years, the movement has been working for and with the target groups consistently responding to their issues and concerns. It is heartening to note that thousands of Sahodaya volunteers of the past and present have imbibed the spirit of blossoming together and lent their mite for the empowerment of people with disabilities during their studies and even after they have left the college.
The special attractions of this year’s Kalarava will be the Cricket Tournament for School Children for the First time, Variety Entertainment, Mimicry and Quiz competitions for the visually impaired children. The event was inaugurated by Padmashree Lachma Shekhar Naik, former captain of the Indian National Cricket Team of the Blind, along with other dignitaries on the dais, namely Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ-Rector of St Aloysius College Institutions; Dhiraj Sequeira & Ms Jeshma D’souza- Presidents-Sahodaya; Ms Aishwarya Hegde & Ms Shri Guari KN, Secretaries- Sahodaya.
Addressing the gathering Shekhar Naik said, “Like they say ‘If there is a Will there is a Way’, therefore for blind people if we have a Will, surely there is a way. I am happy to note for the first time, a state level Blind cricket tournament is organized for school children here in Mangaluru. Blind cricket is yet to get popular, due to lack of sponsors, to conduct tournaments. I say that we need to have a goal in our life, then everything is possible, whether you are blind or a normal person. You should know that Cricket makes you a single person, when you work with the team members, with one goal and unity. Let cricket win, so play with spirit, dedication and commitment, and unleash your hidden talents”.
“I want to tell all differently abled people who want to play sports that we should look at our disability like God’s gift. We should use it well. Some of us think that we will not be able to do anything in life just because we are disabled. That’s not right. Everyone gets opportunities. I gained chances too and I was able to see a little success. As a kid, none of the other children used to play with me just because I am blind. This used to hurt my mother a lot. ‘Others don’t call you to play because of your disability. But you should prove them wrong and do something that not only the village but the entire country will be proud of you,’ my mother used to say,” he recounts. “There are more than 50,000 blind cricketers in India who need encouragement. And for that, we need complete support. Very few people get the chance to represent their country and we have received this chance. We play only for that and value this chance a lot.. As for the Padma Sri, words are not enough to define my happiness. I want to dedicate this victory to other cricketers, cricket lovers, and my visually impaired friends. I am happy that now many people will come to know that blind people are also playing cricket. They will come forward to support us and our matches will see a full stadium,” he concludes.
Also speaking on the occasion Rector Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ said, “I feel happy to be part of this unique tournament, and also to be amidst unique human beings. Sahodaya is indeed doing a yeomen service towards differently-abled folks, which needs to be appreciated, and with a kind gesture, I promise to contribute financial aid (Shhh, won’t tell how much) to their projects. They have a sensitivity towards the community. We should know that these children may be visually impaired, but they are not BLIND. Even though they are disabled, they still are active, determined, who are all ready to unleash their talents. We need to appreciate their efforts and fight to live in a society in such conditions”.
The schools that participated in the Cricket Tournament and Cultural Fest were- The Deepa Academy for the Differently Abled – Bangalore; Shree Sharada Devi Andhara Vikasa Kendra – Shimoga; The Deepa Academy for the Differently Abled – Chamarajanagara; JSB Free Residential School for the Blind – Ramanagar; Roman and Catherine Lobo School for Blind – Mangaluru; Jyana Prajnya Blind Residential School – Mungod; Asha Kirana School for Blind – Chickmagaluru; and The Karnataka Welfare Association for the Blind – Bengaluru. In the Cultural Fest, the winners were Deepa Academy for the Differently Abled, Chamarajanagar; and runners up- Roman and Catherine Lobo school for the blind-Mangaluru. The Cricket tournament, the champions were Asha Kirana School for the Blind, Chickmagaluru; and runners up were JSB Free Residential school for the blind, Ramanagara.
Each participating school received a sum of Rs. 10,000/- as an honorarium. Outstation schools were provided with free accommodation and a travel allowance of Rs. 12,000/- each. The winners of Cricket Tournament were awarded a Trophy along with a cash prize of Rs. 10,000/- and the Runners up of Cricket Tournament with a Trophy along with a cash prize of Rs. 6,000/-. The winners of the Cultural Fest were awarded a Trophy along with a cash prize of Rs. 6,000/- and the Runners up with a Trophy along with a cash prize of Rs. 4,000/-. The prizes were given during the valedictory held on 14 January 2019 at 3.00 pm where Sri Mahantesh G K, Founder & Chairman of Samarthanam International & President of World Blind Cricket Ltd. WBC and CABI was the Chief Guest, and Fr Praveen Martis SJ-Principal, St Aloysius College, Mangaluru presided over the function.
The vote of thanks for the inaugural function and Valedictory was done by Ms Shri Gauri KN and Dhiraj Sequeira respectively, and the compering for Inaugural and valedictory was done by Ms Apoorva S and Ms Crystal Menezes respectively. Welcome address for inaugural and valedictory was done by Dhiraj Sequeira and Ms Jeshma D’souza respectively.
About Padmashree Lachma Shekhar Naik:
From being born blind to winning world cups for India – this is his inspiring journey. As captain, Shekhar led India to victories at the T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in 2012 and Blind Cricket World Cup in 2014. But for this man in his 30’s, the journey to these trophies, awards and applause, has been a tough one marked by hard work and dedication. In 2017, the Government of India awarded Naik with Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian honour. He is a Right-handed batsman and also a wicket-keeper.
Blindness is hereditary in Shekhar’s family, which has 14 other visually impaired people. He was born completely blind in the year 1986, in a village in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. In 1994, by sheer chance and good fortune, Shekhar fell into a ditch while walking. He was taken to a nearby health camp where the doctors realised that it was possible for him to gain some vision in the right eye with a corrective operation. He went for the surgery and it helped him gain partial vision. He is now able to see up to a distance of 3 metres.
His father died soon after, and he was sent to the Shri Sharada Devi School for the Blind in Shimoga. He learnt to play cricket while at the school. He worked in the fields during the summer holidays to fund his cricketing ambitions. His mother died when he was 12. While not playing, he works as a sports coordinator for an NGO called Samarthanam, which funds the Cricket Association for the Blind in India. He has two daughters.
Naik was born in Arakere in southern Karnataka as the son of a farmer. He was born completely blind, and his mother and 15 members of his family also suffered from visual impairment. Naik injured his head after falling down along the bank of a river when he was seven. He was taken to a health camp organized nearby, and during the treatment, the doctors realized the possibility of restoring sight in his right eye. He was subsequently operated upon in Bangalore and was able to get 60% of his vision in his right eye.
In 2000, he was drafted into the Karnataka team after scoring 136 runs in 46 balls. He was called up into the India national blind cricket team in 2002 and went on to captain the team in 2010. Every team consists of 4 B1 players (completely blind), 3 B2 players (partially blind) and 4 B3 players (partially sighted). Naik is among the B2 players. He was the man of the tournament in the 2006 World Cup. He scored 134 runs in 58 balls against England in the finals, to help the team win the inaugural T20 world cup in 2012. He also led the team to victory in the 2014 Cricket World Cup held in South Africa. In 2017, he became the first Blind cricketer to be awarded the Padma Shri.
After the 2014 one-day world cup, the team got a chance to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “He was very happy with our performance. When one of the team members asked him for his autograph, he turned around and asked all of us for our autographs instead. We spoke to him about our problems too, and how we don’t get enough sponsors and representation,” says Shekhar.