It's tough to differentiate amongst the many cricket matches played at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on any given day. Considering what you see is more or less the same, Monday gave passers-by and cricket lovers a different taste of the gentleman's game at the city maidan. The change being, it wasn't sight, but sound that caught the attention.
The sound of ball bearings inside a plastic balls at the match played at the Parsee Cyclist CC was all that one needed to hear in order to know who were playing. With the crowd soon gathering to watch Gujarat take on Punjab, the inaugural day of the All-India cricket tournament for the blind couldn't have asked for a better start.
Gujarat, who have won the tournament for the past five years in a row proved their pedigree by handing out a 141-run drubbing. The star for the victors was Ganesh Muhudkar, member of the 2014 India World Cup winning side. The right-handed opener smashed 92 runs in 30 balls in a knock that saw him score 17 boundaries and three sixes.
Muhudkar, who owns a grain shop in Valsad is one of the few members in the squad with a secure financial background. But he knows that it's not enough. With there being no affiliation to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), players have to resort to private institutions for funds.
"Despite there being hardly any government support, we may play more district tournaments than other other states. Thankfully, my shop back home makes sure I have a steady income. But even that's not enough to sustain my expenses when it comes to playing cricket. Many of our players are students. You can only imagine their plight," said the 27-year-old who is a B2 category blind cricketer (unable to see beyond three metres)
Despite the financial situation that the players face, Gujarat is well represented on the national front with with Ketan Patel and Anil Garia part of the Indian team at the T20 Asia Cup in Kochi starting January 16. With the duo pulling out of the tournament in Mumbai in order to attend the national camp in Kerala, state captain Ganesh Bushra is thankful towards the institutions responsible for giving the players their due.
"Two years back you had Muhudkar. Now you have Ketan and Anil playing for India. Many of our blind friends want to play cricket just because our state has produced stars. Many of our former players have turned to coaching so that helps in a big way. There's been so much change for the good that we recently formed our own women's blind cricket team," said the 29-year-old B3 category player (unable to see beyond six metres)
Brief scores: Gujarat 192/1 in 10 overs (G Muhudkar 92, Subhush 54) bt Punjab 51/8 in 10 overs by 141 runs
