Former cricketers from India and Pakistan back Blind World Cup initiative

No love was lost between the most iconic encounter of India and Pakistan even at the Blind Cricket World Cup final between the two sides at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium where the match was fought as fiercely as a usual India-Pakistan One-Day International cricket match.

Defending champions India won the title beating their opponents by 2 wickets in the closely contested final. Pakistan stormed into the final after defeating Sri Lanka by 156 runs in the semi-final on Wednesday while India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in the semi-final to set up a title clash with the arch-rivals. The defending champions had beaten Pakistan by seven wickets in their group match on January 13.

Team composition

Players in both then elevens are divided into three categories such as B1, B2, and B3. There is a minimum of four totally blind players (B1); three are partially blind players (B2), and a maximum of four partially sighted players (B3) can constitute the team.

For the final, Pakistan’s legendary batsman and former International Cricket Council (ICC) president Zaheer Abbas and former Indian wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani, who is also the Patron of India’s blind cricket were invited.

Speaking to Gulf News, Zaheer Abbas said: “It is great that these blind cricketers have the heart to play this game. Cricket is a game that everybody likes so it has become popular among blind people.

“I think they are a great source of inspiration and motivation to any normal disciple of sport. They should be ahead of all of us so that we get inspired,” he stated.

The ball used is significantly larger than the regular cricket ball and is filled with ball bearings that provide audible cues. The batsman hits the ball monitoring the sound of the ball and use the ‘sweep shot’, to provide a maximum chance for the bat to hit the ball and the bowlers’ bowl under-arm.

“Their anticipation is based on the sound of the ball, there are three categories and some of them cannot even see at all,” he added.

“They deserved more publicity but getting to play at an international stadium like Sharjah is the least encouragement they can get from their respective associations. The International Cricket Council also supporting this event and it is a big boost,” the legendary cricketer concluded.