Honouring India's little-known differently-abled national cricket team

Cricket, long before it acquired the status of "religion" in many ways, remained largely so until India won its first World Cup in 1983, and the image of Kapil Dev holding aloft the trophy instilled a sense of accomplishment and pride in hearts and minds across the country.

But the Indian national cricket team, brimming with glamour, has overshadowed its poorer cousins, leaving them on the margins.

Ever heard of the Indian differently-abled national cricket team or the Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India (PCCAI)?

I heard a thin sound of discussion as I entered the derelict gate of Geeta Bhawan in Delhi's Kamla Nagar area.

This is where the players would be camping for the next two days. The excitement and curiosity in their eyes was palpable on hearing that they would be photographed for the next two days.

They had arrived on the morning of July 18 for a two-day training camp in Delhi, ahead of their Afghanistan tour for a three-match series from July 22 to July 25.

They had a net practice session scheduled in the evening at Roshnara Club. Since rain had lashed the Capital in the morning itself, the pitch was not ready for practice.

They had no other option than playing football, on a drenched field, to warm up. And the facilities provided to this team leave much to be desired.

"We do not have a proper funding model yet. Our funding depends on contributions by people," founder secretary general Ravi Chauhan said, when asked about sponsorship. "Fortunately, our team jerseys have been sponsored by Bhajji Sports for now." Bhajji Sports is owned by cricketer Harbhajan Singh's Mother, Avtar Kaur.

Indian cricket icon Yuvraj Singh also invited the team to his house in Gurugram and gave best wishes for their tour and for the coming future. According to team captain Ravi Patil, it was a dream-come-true meeting for the players.

They are a bunch of outstanding people left behind not only in terms of resources and management, but have also not been backed by the backbone of Indian cricket, BCCI.

One of the team members, Guru Das Raut, differently-abled by birth, holds a world record of single-handedly hitting a 106m-long six during a T20 match against South Africa in July 2014.

No mean feat, it would probably have been big news if the name would have been Kohli or Raina or Dhoni.

Though they lost the series against Afghanistan by 1-2, they already have plenty of glory deeds in their winning account.

They are still determined, not hindered by the whip of cumbersome situations.