India’s blind women cricketers are making history by competing in the inaugural T20 World Cup for visually impaired women, showcasing resilience and skill in a groundbreaking tournament that began this month. Their participation highlights a significant step forward for disability inclusion in sports, with the team overcoming immense personal and societal challenges to reach this global stage.
The ongoing inaugural Blind Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup has brought widespread attention to visually impaired athletes from India, many of whom hail from rural villages, farming families, and small-town hostels. The tournament, which started on November 11 in Delhi and includes matches in Bengaluru and Colombo, features six teams: India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and the USA. India’s 16-member squad represents nine states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Odisha, with players often introduced to cricket through schoolteachers, disability organizations, or community camps only in recent years.
Team manager Shika Shetty emphasized the initial hurdles, such as language barriers, cultural resistance from families and teachers, and the difficulty of explaining blind cricket rules. Despite these obstacles, the players now compete with immense pride and determination. Their journey reflects a broader shift in attitudes towards women with disabilities in sports, fueled by increased visibility and support from various stakeholders.
Blind cricket is specially adapted for visually impaired players, using a plastic ball embedded with metal bearings that jingle to aid auditory tracking. Players are categorized by sight levels: B1 (fully blind), B2, and B3, with teams required to field a mix of all three categories. The ball is bowled underarm along the ground, and B1 batters use runners for safety, with each run they score counting as two to ensure fair play and inclusivity.
India’s team is captained by Deepika TC, who lost her sight as a baby in an accident and grew up in a farming family in Karnataka. She discovered cricket through specialized schools, where teachers encouraged her to try the sport despite her initial hesitation. Deepika credits cricket with giving her direction and confidence, and she aspires to mirror the success of India’s sighted women’s team, which recently won the World Cup. Support from cricketing stars like Jemimah Rodrigues and Shubman Gill has been particularly motivating for the squad.
Other notable players include vice-captain Ganga Kadam from Maharashtra, who comes from a family of nine siblings and was enrolled in a school for the blind by her farmer father. She initially played cricket casually but was urged by a mentor to take it seriously, mastering the sport through persistence. Top-order batter Anekha Devi, 20, from Jammu and Kashmir, was born partially blind and attended a blind cricket camp in Delhi on her uncle’s recommendation, quickly adapting to the audible ball system.
The World Blind Cricket Council, headquartered in London, has overseen the sport since 1996, but this year marks the first-ever women’s Blind Cricket World Cup, following men’s events that began in 1998. In India, the Cricket Association for the Blind was established in 2011, with systematic scouting for a women’s team starting in 2019. This led to their first international match in 2023 and a gold medal at the IBSA World Games in Birmingham the same year, laying the foundation for this historic tournament.
The semifinals and final are being held in Colombo, with the championship match scheduled for Sunday. All games are streamed live on CABI’s YouTube channel and state-run Prasar Bharati platforms, while India’s matches are broadcast on national broadcaster Doordarshan, significantly boosting the sport’s visibility. Organizers believe this increased exposure will encourage more families to support girls with visual impairments in pursuing sports, fostering greater inclusion and opportunities in the future.
