Kolkata: Suvro Joarder, who is the captain of the Physically Challenged Indian Cricket team is coming up with an academy for differently-abled players soon at Vivekananda Park in Kolkata in an attempt to uplift the game of physically-challenged and underprivileged women cricketers. He has also planned to provide free training to the players at his Straight Drive Academy.
In an exclusive interview with Sportslight Media Joarder revealed his planning and ideas with the academy. “Basically I am attached with physically challenged cricket for the last 10 years, from the last three years I am the captain of the physically-challenged cricket team of both Bengal and India. So that is when I thought of making an academy where physically-challenged cricketers will get proper training,” he said.
“The problem that the disabled cricketers have to face if they go to normal academy camp for admission, they are not given chance for admission and various reasons and excuses like they might get hurt, the way you guys should get trained our coaches are not familiar to that so the physically-challenged cricketers don’t get normal coaching or training.”
“Under different-abled cricket, there comes — Blind cricket team, Deaf and Dumb cricket team and Physically-Challenged. Since the last three to four years differently-abled cricket, especially, physically-challenged cricket has developed a lot and came into limelight. So I thought of doing something for them and for the upliftment of the whole segment of differently-abled cricket.
That’s when I came up with this idea of constructing an academy for them which will also include normal cricketers and on another side, there will a segment for differently-abled cricketers where the disabled cricketers will also practice. The coaches will have a different way of handling them as the differently-abled cricketers have various obstacles so the coaches have to decide that and go through it thoroughly and will start providing training,” he added.
Suvro is a promising cricketer and broke several records early in his career. He lost his right leg due to an untimely highway bike accident in 2008. However, 11 years later, he came back with a bang making history as the first physically disabled cricketer to earn a place in Excelsior squad in Kolkata club cricket. He is the world’s first ‘blade cricketer’.
This is the moment you strive for!🏆
— Cricket Association for Physically Challenged (@TeamCAPCB) February 12, 2019
🎉🎊#BengalPhysicallyChallengedTeam win #NationalTournament in the #CityofTaj by defeating home team UP by 20 runs in the final 🤠
But what a nail biting finisher it was👏👏👏@JoarderSuvro#CAB #BengalCricket #PhysicallyChallengedCricket pic.twitter.com/fV4nPtu7xm
Joarder also revealed Kolkata’s Mayor Firhad Hakim came forward in his noble project. “I had a conversation with Firhad Hakim and he had suggested about Vivekananda Park, from the part of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority Government (KMDA). And then the CEO of PC Chandra Jewellers, AK Chandra had also helped in this mission with funding for the academy,” he said.
“He is also helping for the upliftment of this cricket and contributed a lot in creating this academy and provided us with sponsorship. I hope within two-three months it will come to a place to start with the training, hopefully, from November we can start with the practice sessions.”
Meanwhile, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, Avishek Dalmiya congratulated Suvro for his initiative and said that CAB will be supporting him in this mission. “The work has been already started and within that on Tuesday CAB president Avishek Dalmiya has called me and asked for the official tie-up of CAB differently-abled cricket with our academy. Dalmiya proposed Straight Drive to work in association with CAB, wherein Bengal’s differently-abled cricket training will be officially conducted from the Straight Drive Academy,” Joarder added.
Avishek has been constantly working for the development of Bengal cricket with the senior men’s side doing exceptionally well in the last Ranji season. It was Avishek, who took the initiative and amended ICC law to make way for Suvro to play second division league again with a runner. Then CAB president and current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly also supported this cause.
#DADAGIRI with #Dada 🏏
— Suvro Joarder (@JoarderSuvro) August 22, 2019
A complete circle from being just a mere fan to sharing the same stage with the man himself ❤ Thanks alot Maharaj for appreciating my efforts and helping me on and off the field 😊 #SuvroJoarder #BladeCricketer …
2 #IndianCaptains in one Frame pic.twitter.com/qI84NZZc9U
“Dada is always very supportive. He has always supported me and when he was the president of CAB, he managed to amend the rules especially for me that I can play for both physically-challenged cricket and normal CAB segment cricket equally,” he said.
“When I went to participate in Dadagiri, Dada on-screen in front of the whole nation asked me for my autograph. There are no words by which I can describe Dada, he always tries to praise and support all of us,” he concluded. With CAB and physically-challenged Indian team captain Joarder taking such initiative the future of differently-abled cricket in Bengal looks secured.
