NEW DELHI: Richard Gould, the secretary of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), has reached out to Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, with a proposal aimed at promoting cricket among individuals with disabilities in India.
The proposal involves bringing two national disability teams from England to India: one team for the visually impaired (blind) and another combined team consisting of players who are physically challenged, intellectually challenged, and hearing impaired.
The objective of this initiative is to help popularize the sport among these communities in India. Currently, the Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI) operates as a sub-committee of the BCCI.
However, the Indian board does not independently organize any tournaments specifically for differently abled cricketers.
It is expected that Gould and Shah will engage in discussions regarding this proposal on the sidelines of the upcoming ICC Annual conference in Colombo.
Gould is scheduled to participate in the Chief Executives Meet during the conference, providing an opportunity for the two officials to further explore the potential of this initiative and its implementation in India.
"We propose boards operate two international teams -- a blind XI as a standalone format and then a pan-disability format with squads consisting of deaf, intellectually impaired and physically disabled cricketers. We would be keen and willing to host the inaugural pan-disability tournament involving our five nations in 2025. The ICC are keen to show collective support for this approach to ensure any steps are member driven," Gould wrote in a letter, also addressed to Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley, PCB COO Salman Naseer, and CSA CEO Phletsi Moseki. A copy of the letter is with PTI.
In fact, Gould has addressed that the "global disability cricket is unstructured, unregulated and often unsupported".
"There are many different codes of disability cricket -- blind, deaf, intellectual impairment and physical disability and there has been widespread lack of co-ordination and strategy that sits across all four.
"This has not been an area of sport we have collectively prioritised and although financial restraints are felt as prevalently now as ever, now is the time for us to come together to turbocharge the disability game," Gould further wrote.
Ravi Chauhan, the head of DCCI, is expected to visit Sri Lanka to engage in discussions, as he has been serving as the intermediary between his committee and BCCI.
According to Gould, the 1.3 billion (130 crore) individuals with diverse disabilities worldwide represent an untapped market that requires attention and service.
