The Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) announced the first-ever T-10 Women’s Deaf Premier League in Mumbai, Maharashtra, from January 8-11 this year, announced IDCA.
As per a statement released on Thursday, in its inaugural edition, six specially-abled women’s teams from different parts of the country will compete on the field to clinch the coveted Premier League trophy.
The four-day tournament will kick off with a special opening ceremony organised on Monday, January 8 at 9 AM at Police Gymkhana Cricket Ground, Marine Lines, Mumbai, Maharashtra. In this four-day tournament, six Deaf women’s cricket teams – Punjab Lions, UP Warriorz, Mumbai Stars, Delhi Bulls, Hyderabad Eagles and Bangalore Badshahs – will play a total of 11 matches before making it to the finals.
The two best teams will face each other in the final match scheduled for January 11, 2024.
Sumit Jain, President, IDCA, commented, “We are grateful to Serum Institute of India, Cyrus Poonawalla Group, Nykaa & Indo Count for their wholehearted support to our movement of supporting hearing impaired Women players in our forthcoming tournaments in 2024. IDCA is proud of our women players, these are athletes despite their commitment to their home & families have brought immense pride to society & have excelled in the field of Cricket.”
The winning team and the players will be felicitated for their exceptional performance at the closing ceremony to be held on January 11 at 4 PM. The IDCA T-10 champions will receive a prize of Rs 1,00,000, while the runner-up will get Rs 50,000. The best individual sportsmen in categories such as batting, bowling, fielding, and super sixes will receive cash awards.
Roma Balwani, CEO, IDCA added, “The excitement of playing in Mumbai & competing in the home ground of stalwarts of cricket is truly special. IDCA believes in celebrating diversity & inclusion through disability sports, especially cricket. We thank all our support partners, and state associations, for their belief in our endeavour to promote deaf cricket both in India and internationally. We salute each woman player for their grit & resilience to prove their sportsmanship on the cricket field besides being homemakers. Best wishes to all these amazing women participating in specially-abled sports.”
