I'm glad we have cleared roadblocks for differently abled cricketers: Jay Shah

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has said that he was keen to set a system in place which could benefit the specially-abled cricketers. In April last year, the board decided to recognize the Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI). This body promotes the game among the deaf, blind, and wheelchair participants.

A few months later, the BCCI took another step as the Indian disability team will now play under the aegis of the board. Shah has been the secretary of the board since October 2019 and has played a pivotal role in taking differently-abled cricket under the national body’s wings.  In a conversation with Hindustan Times, the 33-year-old said that he was keen to set a system for the specially-abled cricketers and is glad to have cleared the roadblocks.

“When I was elected as the secretary of the Board, this was one area that was close to my heart, and I wanted to bring about a change. I was very keen to set a system in place for our divyang cricketers so that they can benefit from BCCI’s resources and expertise. I am glad we have cleared the roadblocks and we will continue to build on from here,” the 33-year-old said.

Shah, who is also the President of the Asian Cricket Council added that he was approached by four to five different bodies at the time of identifying and recognizing the cricketers.

“When we started the process of identifying and recognizing differently-abled cricketers, I was approached by four to five different bodies, all wanting to be recognized. Much of the time was spent to bring all of them under one umbrella body, understand their concerns and ensure their proper representation,” the Asian Cricket Council president stated.

Our aim throughout was very clear: Jay Shah

Shah further added the BCCI office-bearers alongside him had a clear thought that the recognized body needed to be transparent in the process. He also said that the board has given guidelines under which the board-recognized matches will take place.

“Our aim throughout was very clear that the body that will be recognized will need to be absolutely transparent in their process, in their day-to-day functioning, their operations, and with their selection policies so that the talented cricketers do not suffer. Now that they are under the BCCI’s fold, we have given them certain guidelines under which all BCCI-recognised matches take place. Our committee is forming a roadmap for development and will present it soon to the board,” Shah further added.