9th December, 2024 – The Indian Deaf Cricket Team clinched a major victory against Sri Lanka in the 5-match bilateral ODI deaf cricket series held in New Delhi. The Indian squad defeated the visiting Sri Lankan team 5-0 at the DDA Roshanara Club to win the series held between 02 December to 08 December.
The bilateral series was hosted by the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) – a member of the Deaf International Cricket Council (DICC), closely working with International Cricket Council (ICC) for promotion of cricket amongst the hearing-impaired athletes all over the world. Players from both the teams leveraged the unique opportunity to showcase their talents and they proved their mettle in each match of the series. The Indian squad was led by captain Virendra Singh, and included 15 players from across the country.
Highlighting the relevance of the deaf cricket series, President of IDCA, Sumit Jain, mentioned, “I would like to congratulate players from both the teams for showcasing their exemplary talents during the series. Bilateral series like this are the perfect platform for the teams to hone their talents and get ready for larger platforms in the future. IDCA looks forwards to keep organizing more series like this to promote and keep appreciating the special athletic talent of our hearing-impaired players.”
On this occasion, IDCA Director Mr. Santosh Kumar Rai hailed the performance of Indian Team and congratulated both the Teams for the wonderful display of great game. He further thanked all support partners for their continuous support and requested all to keep supporting our team so that they can keep performing well as they belong to very marginalized society.
The grand success of the Indian deaf cricket team in the bilateral series comes after extensive training and practice sessions under the expert guidance of head coach Dev Dutt and assistant coach Susheel Gupta. The players were trained in Delhi from November 25 to December 1. Mr. Sai Akash of Indian Deaf Cricket Team bagged the Man of the Match title, while Mr. Alanrose Kalep from Sri Lankan Deaf Cricket Team became the Man of the Series. Mr. Alanrose Kalep was also the maximum wicket-taker in the series with 12 wickets in 4 innings while Santosh Kumar Mahopatra from Indian Team was adjudged best batter who score 325 runs in 5 matches at an average of 65 runs including one century and 2 half centuries.
The prize distribution ceremony was graced by the presence of Jaswinder Narang, CEO – Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, Vinod Pillai, (GM – Finance & Accounts) – Shoppers Stop Limited, Vinod Sodha, (Sr.GM – Institutional Business) – Shoppers Stop Limited, Pratik Puri, Head of Cricket Academies – Delhi Capitals and Kapil Sabharwal, Communication head – Patanjali Foods. Jaswinder Narang and Pratik Puri presented the runners up and winner’s trophies.
Appreciating the talents of both teams, Jaswinder Narang, CEO – Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, said, “The intense battle between the two teams is a testament of the perseverance and skills of the specially-abled players. The role of IDCA in organizing the bilateral series, to help the players build their confidence and perform even better, is really appreciable. The win of Team India clearly depicts how the players hold the capability to compete and succeed at the highest levels of the sport.”
Key personalities who whole heartedly extended support to make this tournament a success and truly memorable included Mr, Vipin Mishra from Asmita Enterprises, Sunil Kumar, Owner and Director, CLC Group and Nisar Ahmad, National Secretary, JDU. This 5-0 series win against Sri Lanka will boost the morale of Indian Team before the triangular series starting from 2nd March in Delhi against Australia and South Africa.