President Mukherjee felicitates Indian deaf cricket team

The Indian Deaf Cricket team scored the highest honour with a felicitation by President Pranab Mukherjee last week.

Led by captain Rohit Saini, entire team and senior officials of the Deaf Cricket Society were present on the occasion.

The team is also celebrating its win at the finals against Bangladesh to win the second edition of the T-20 Asia Cup for Deaf in Dhaka. India scored 182 in 19.4 overs with 7 wickets while chasing a target of 178 runs put up by Bangladesh.

"We are very happy and proud to represent India in cricket. The teams are dedicated to the game and each victory encourages our commitment. Meeting our honorable President Shri Pranab Mukherjee was a privilege for the entire team. We have made a commitment to him to continue to excel and win more trophies for our country," said Sumit Jain, General Secretary of the Deaf Cricket Society.

India's Jitendra Tyagi scored a total of 181 runs in the tournament and was adjudged the best batsman, while Indian Vice-Captain Fahimuddin gave away only 85 runs and took 5 wickets to be adjudged best bowler of the tournament.

"I have always believed in supporting high caliber cricket players and it's a delight to train the teams of DCS, and have them bring glory to our country,"said team's coach M. P Singh, who is also the coach of the National Stadium, Delhi.

The second T-20 Asia Cup was organized by Bangladesh Deaf Sports Federation (BDSF). The tournament had 5 countries participating - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

The Deaf Cricket Society (DCS), a philanthropic organization and registered society, organizes several tournaments to discover the hidden talent of deaf persons in India. Early this month, the DCS organized first edition of T-20 Indian Premier League for Deaf, which was won by Deaf Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Besides, the DCS has organized several tournaments, including the first edition of T-20 World Cup for Deaf that was held in November 2015 at Delhi and the first T-20 Asia Cup for Deaf in December, 2014 at Dharamshala. All tournaments are played as per the rules and guidelines of International Cricket Council (ICC).