The honorary secretary of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association (PDCA), Amir Uddin Ansari spoke exclusively with PakPassion.net about the background and future of Disabled Cricket in Pakistan.

by Amir Husain (29th March 2014)

The recently concluded series between disabled cricketers from Pakistan and England in the UAE ended with a closely fought 2-1 victory for the hosts, Pakistan, in both T20I and ODI formats. Whereas many would marvel at the virtually superhuman strengths of these sportsmen to compete at such intensity, what is truly inspirational is the manner in which they have overcome their disabilities to come this far and represent their nations with unadulterated pride.

Someone who clearly understands the sacrifices and the struggles associated with this form of cricket is the honorary secretary of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association (PDCA), Amir Uddin Ansari who in exclusive remarks with PakPassion.net spoke about the background and future of Disabled Cricket in Pakistan stating that “Disabled Cricket started in 2007 in Karachi under the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association. The body made an effort to spread this throughout the country and introduce it at the international level in 2012.”

It is a matter of extreme pride for many Pakistanis that the game in this form was pioneered in the country as Ansari explains.

“Being a Pakistan it is something to be proud of that something that we introduced is being played internationally. The founder person of the association is Saleem Karim who was also the first captain of the Disabled Cricket team. His left leg is polio affected and he single-handedly made efforts to promote this game. He is responsible for sponsorships and organising of all the events, the website and social media in Pakistan and internationally.”

Whereas the mainstream form of cricket has many avenues for its advancement, the disabled game has understandably lagged in this aspect. Ansari feels that this is now changing “Social Media in this day and age has become a very effective tool and it has revolutionized the media. We have also created Twitter accounts, websites and Facebook pages for the Disabled Cricket Association.”

No discussion on the achievements of disabled cricketers can hide the amount of effort put in by these sportsmen to make the effort and play and rise to the level they have. Whilst attitudes towards disabled persons are changing dramatically, Ansari feels that disabled cricketers need to be recognized for their inspirational struggle to overcome their disabilities.

“Physically disabled people were considered worthless and useless in Pakistan and particularly in the Asian region but in our culture the concept has changed and people give them respect and call them ‘Disabled’ rather than any other harsh words nowadays. The interesting thing that no one realizes is that cricket is totally an unfit game for these guys and still they are playing very normal cricket. There are actually two different sections ‘the mental side and the physical side’. The physical side is usually given more importance in cricket but these Disabled Cricketers have used their mental strength too and proved to the world they can play cricket too.”

The site of the perfect cover drive in international cricket is possibly an outcome of years of practice following accepted techniques but what disabled cricketers are achieving despite their disabilities beggars belief and in Ansari’s words is a direct challenge to what is considered conventional wisdom for cricket.

“Physically disabled cricketers have challenged the coaching manual which has been considered sacrosanct throughout the history of cricket! If you take any skill whether bowling, batting or fielding it requires you to be super fit with both arms and legs. When you catch your head needs to be still, the body needs to be balanced on both your feet and the eye level needs to be accurate too but these disabled cricketers are catching the ball with one hand, batting with one hand and bowling with a single arm. The same applies to bowling where your non bowling arm plays a very vital part on where to bowl and on the balance of the body.”

The disabled cricketers of Pakistan and England head back to their homes with their heads held high and it is a matter of great national pride that such flag bearers of human triumph live amongst us. The individual stories of hardship that they have endured to represent their nations are an example for all and one hopes that they continue to inspire us in the way they have done so far.

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