The Indian physically disabled cricket team will look to bank on its all-round strength when it takes on England in a five-match T20 series starting in Ahmedabad on Saturday. (More Cricket News)
The players went through rigorous training for five days from January 15-20 at the Rajasthan Royal’s academy at Talegaon in Nagpur before flying to Ahmedabad for the series, which is their first major assignment since winning the 2019 World Cup.
“We have plenty of all-rounders in the team,” India captain Vikrant Keni told PTI.
“We have Ravindra Sante, Wasim Iqbal and Shiv Shankara GS who bats really well and can bowl part-time. In Radhika Prasad and Mohammad Sadiq, we have good pacers, Pawan Kumar can handle the spin attack. Shiv Shankara only has one hand but with that, he hits spectacular sixes,” he added.
Keni hoped the series would bring about a remarkable change to physically disabled cricket in India.
“We expected the scenario to change after we won the 2019 World Cup but it did not happen due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"If the BCCI and IPL franchises support us, it will be great. (Some of) the disabled cricketers come from humble backgrounds. Some of them leave their jobs to come and play. If there is more support, then the players will be motivated further to play for India,” Keni added.
The team’s coach for the series is Rohit Jhalani, who has played in the Ranji Trophy for Rajasthan and has donned a different hat, having been a selector during the 2019 World Cup campaign.
“We have witnessed a historical change in India after the 1983 World Cup and somehow I am looking at this series in that sense,” he said.
