New Delhi:
The Indian national Blind Cricket Team have created history whenever they have stepped out on the field.
Following four consecutive World Cup triumphs since 2012, the Indian team has been on a roll, winning a series in Sri Lanka and recently thrashing the same opponents by 10 wickets in a tri-series which also featured England. The juggernaut continued with India whitewashing Sri Lanka 5-0 in the recently concluded T20 series.
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The Indian team will play a bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka and it starts at the Roshanara Cricket Club in New Delhi on Tuesday. However, this game will be historic as this will be the first time that a blind cricket match will be played under lights in India.
Speaking on the historic development in a chat with News Nation, Aswini Sahoo, CEO of World Blind Cricket said, “This will be the first time India will have a Day-Night game and it is a proud moment for all of us.’’
When asked about whether the new conditions will give the players a new challenge, Sahoo said, ‘’There will not be a major difference. All the B-1 category players (Totally Blind) wear dark glasses while playing even in the day time. So, it will not pose a major challenge”.
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Categories and rules for Blind Cricketers
There are three category of players that feature in the Blind cricket team. B1 is totally blind, B2 is partially blind and B3 is partially sighted. Each playing XI must have two B1 players. Each run that a B1 player scores gets doubled before adding to the scorecard.
Bowlers must bowl underarm and the cricket ball is fitted with ball bearings that gives a noise which the player can hear. Players rely on sound for their shots. For B1 players, their catch will be deemed legal if the ball bounces once.
