The registration process for the differently-abled cricket players was opened a week ago by the B.C.C.I. appointed Differently-Abled Cricket Committee through the Differently-abled Cricket Council of India (D.C.C.I.) Up until now, 2,600 Divyang Cricketers have already registered themselves.
“The vital part of the registration process is to collect the data of Differently-Abled Cricketers of India and streamline the entire process. We are also collecting the data of support staff who have experience of working with Differently Abled Cricketers.” – stated in the press release by DCCI.
Differently-Abed Cricket Council Of India (D.C.C.I.) is the umbrella organisation consisting 4 different formats of differently-abled cricket played in India:
- Cricket Association For the Blind In India (CABI) for Blind Cricket.
- Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) for Deaf Cricket.
- Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India (PCCAI) for Physically Challenged Cricket.
- Wheelchair Cricket India Association (WCIA) for Wheelchair Cricket.
D.C.C.I. was formed in April 2021, under the guidance of Jay Shah, Secy BCCI with a vision to give a valid platform to Divyangs in India to play cricket. Later on, a Differently-Abled Cricket Committee was formed in the 90th Annual General Meeting of BCCI held in Kolkata on 4th December 2021. D.C.C.I. is the only body that is supported by B.C.C.I. for the promotion and development of cricket for differently-abled players. All the data collected will be shared with the B.C.C.I. which will further be divided state-wise and sent to state associations. This data will allow us to plan our activities efficiently.
State Cricket Associations such as Punjab, Hyderabad, Pondicherry, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tripura, etc have already formed Differently-Abled Cricket Committees at the state level and other states are also doing the same.
Ravi Kant Chauhan, Secretary-General of D.C.C.I. and member of BCCI’s Committee for Differently-Abled, says, “Right now there are many organizations claiming themselves to represent the country without any consent of the BCCI. This often leads to the exploitation of players. We want to stop all this and bring a system in place just like BCCI has for men and women players.”
D.C.C.I office bearers include Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar of Cricket Association for the blind in India (CABI) as the President of DCCI, Sumit Jain of Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) as Vice President, Ravikant Chauhan of Physically challenged Cricket India Association (PCCAI), as General Secretary, Sqn Ldr Abhai Pratap Singh (Retd.) of Wheelchair Cricket India Association (WCIA) as Joint Secretary and John David as the Treasurer of the Differently-Abled Cricket Council Of India (DCCI).
