Indian deaf cricket team to tour England for T20I series

New Delhi, June 11 The Indian Deaf cricket team will face England in a seven-match bilateral T20I series, starting from June 18 at The County Ground, Derby, and then moves to Kidderminster, Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire before finishing up in Leicestershire on June 27.

The selection committee has finalised the names of the 15 players, who will represent India in England. Under the leadership of captain Virender Singh, the team will play a powerpack match against England.

Coach Dev Dutt and head coach Santosh Kumar Rai will accompany the team in the series. Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) CEO Roma Balwani will also travel with the team, along with other officials of IDCA.

The team is participating in the training camp before the tour in Delhi from June 7 to June 14. They will depart for the tournament on June 15 and will return on June 30.

The Bilateral T20 series is being organised by the Disability Committee of England & Wales Cricket Board.

Rajesh Aggrawal, IAS, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, said, "This landmark event not only showcases the exceptional talent of our athletes but also highlights the importance of inclusivity in sports. Under the capable leadership of Captain Virender Singh, we are confident that Team India will excel and make our nation proud.I extend my best wishes to the team for a successful series and commend the efforts of all stakeholders in making this event possible."

Roma Balwani, CEO, IDCA said, "In our quest to create world-class hearing-impaired players from India with the best-in-class BCCI certified coaches, and performing their best every time one is on the field. We are delighted that the IDCA team will be hosted by ECB for this first time ever international bilateral series.Our gratitude to Disability Committee of England & Wales Cricket Board for organising this tournament. Our team will undergo training &is looking forward to play and win this tournament. The international series will be live-streamed on the England and Wales Cricket Board website and YouTube channel, as well as IDCA YouTube channel will also go live from England."

Indian deaf cricket team against England: Virender Singh (c), Sai Akash (vc), Umar Ashraf (wk), Munna Sarkar, Abhishek Singh, Sudarsun E, Manish Jain, Manjeet Kumar, Sanju Sharma, Akash Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Deepak Kumar, Vivek Kumar, Pranil More, Shiv Narayan Sharma (wk).

Support Staff: Dev Dutt (coach), Santosh Kumar Rai (head coach), Vineet Malhotra (manager), Roma Balwani (leader team), Hanuman Ram (official), Sharad Mudgal (interpreter) (ISL).

Source: IANS