Islamabad, 20 March 2023 (TDI): During March 15–20, the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) and Serena Hotels organized a six-day cricket training camp for visually impaired women and girls from all around Pakistan.
The camp was supported by the Australian High Commission. The training expands on Australia’s assistance to PBCC since 2018.
It helped establish Pakistan’s first blind women’s cricket team. In the same year, the new team competed in its inaugural international Twenty20 match.
Australia’s sponsorship aims to give more women and girls with disabilities the chance to participate and demonstrate their abilities.
It will promote inclusiveness in sport, according to Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Neil Hawkins, who spoke at the award ceremony following the training today.
In this vein, the Australian High Commissioner said, “We hope to break gender stereotypes and negative perceptions associated with people with disabilities through our support of this initiative.
Also read: Australia supports visually impaired women’s cricket clinic in Pakistan
Australia and Pakistan share a passion for cricket, so we are happy to support the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council’s efforts to bring women and girls living with disabilities into the sport.”
These athletes were assisted in pushing their limits by coaches Abdul Razzaq, Tahir Butt, and Bakhtawar Iqbal, who led the national blind men’s squad.
The Chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, Syed Sultan Shah, said, “Blind Cricket is a sport that has gained popularity in recent years for its unique approach to inclusivity.
It provides an opportunity for people with visual impairments to compete at a high level, develop their skills and confidence, and become people of vision, both on and off the field.
I hope that this initiative will inspire more people with disabilities to participate in sports and lead fulfilling lives.”
In Melbourne, Australia, two blind factory employees created blind cricket in 1922 by improvising a game using a tin can filled with rocks.
The first sports facility and clubhouse for blind cricket were constructed in Kooyong in Melbourne a few years later, in 1928.
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