The Secretary of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Richard Gould, has proposed the creation of two national disability cricket teams in India. For this, he has written to his BCCI counterpart, S ecretary Jay Shah. This initiative aims to increase the sport’s popularity among people with disabilities.
Gould’s proposal includes a dedicated team for visually impaired (blind) players and a combined team for players with physical challenges, intellectual challenges, and hearing impairments.
India currently has a Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI) functioning as a sub-committee under the BCCI. However, the BCCI does not organise independent tournaments for these players.
Proposal for international collaboration
In a letter addressed to his counterparts at the BCCI, Cricket Australia, Pakistan Cricket Board, and Cricket South Africa, Gould proposes establishing two international teams: a dedicated blind XI and a pan-disability team.
“We propose boards operate two international teams — a blind XI as a standalone format and then a pan-disability format with squads consisting of deaf, intellectually impaired, and physically disabled cricketers. We would be keen and willing to host the inaugural pan-disability tournament involving our five nations in 2025. The ICC are keen to show collective support for this approach to ensure any steps are member-driven,” Gould wrote.
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Need for unified approach
Gould emphasises the current unstructured and unsupported nature of global disability cricket.
“There are many different codes of disability—blind, deaf, intellectual impairment, and physical disability and there has been widespread lack of coordination and strategy that sits across all four. This has not been an area of sport we have collectively prioritised, and although financial restraints are felt as prevalently now as ever, now is the time for us to come together to turbocharge the disability game,” Gould further wrote.
Untapped market potential
The proposal recognises the vast potential of disability cricket. With 1.3 billion people with disabilities globally, Gould sees this as an untapped market that deserves attention.
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