India’s first-ever Women’s team for visually-impaired cricketers to square off against Nepal

In a historic move, India's first-ever national women's team for the visually-impaired are all set to compete in their maiden bilateral series in Nepal. The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced a 17-member squad that will represent the nation for the forthcoming T20 bilateral series against the neighbouring nation.

In addition to this, the matches are likely to be played from April 25 to April 30, which will be held in Pokhara and Kathmandu, respectively. As many as five T20 matches will be played during the span of six days across the two venues.

Sushma Patel will lead the first batch of the 17-member national team whereas Gangavva Neelappa Harijan has been named the vice-captain for the forthcoming series. John David, CABI’s General Secretary, broke the historic news during an interaction with News18 CricketNext. The CABI also took to their official Twitter handle to announce the 17-member contingent and congratulated the athletes on their impressive achievement.

“This is the first-ever women’s team for visually impaired players and will be playing their first bilateral series,” John David told in the interview.

Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI)@blind_cricket

Breaking Barriers and Shattering Stereotypes Introducing the first-ever Indian Blind Women Cricket Team. Congratulations to these inspiring athletes on their remarkable achievement. Let's show our support and cheer them on as they take on the world! #InclusioninSports #Diversity

11:03 AM · Apr 11, 2023

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“Breaking Barriers and Shattering Stereotypes! Introducing the first-ever Indian Blind Women Cricket Team. Congratulations to these inspiring athletes on their remarkable achievements. Let’s show our support and cheer them on as they take on the world! #InclusioninSports #Diversity,” captioned CABI on Twitter.

36 blind cricketers underwent rigorous training

On April 1, the top 36 visually-impaired women cricketers underwent the final day of training at Faith Cricket Club in Bhopal. Out of these, 17 members made the cut for the first batch which will play Nepal in the bilateral series. 

It is understood that the squad will first team up at the national cricket coaching camp at Sarda Sportscube Foundation in Gurugram on April 17, and then depart for Nepal on April 23. As the first-ever series is on the cards, the team will be looking forward to engraving their names in history by winning the matches against Nepal.