Emotional Chennai Superstarz team win first Divyang Premier League Trophy and dedicate it to renowned South Indian actor Kamal Haasan

 By K.R. Nayar

Chennai Superstarz emerged champions of the first Divyang Premier League for cricketers with physical disabilities by beating Kolkata Knight Fighters in the final. The whole tournament was an emotional battle with physically challenged cricketers fighting hard ignoring their misfortunes and giving their best on the field to emerge as the best

Chennai Superstarz celebrate their victory 

Amidst emotional scenes, Chennai Superstarz lifted the winner's trophy of the first edition of the Divyang Premier League for cricketers with physical disabilities. They beat Kolkata Knight Fighters by 23 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with most of their players in tears during the closing stages of the final. Kailash, who bowled the last over to prevent Kolkata from reaching the target, burst into tears in the middle of the last over. He was unable to control his emotions after he had ensured that Kolkata does not reach the target and realised that his team would be the champions.

Chennai Superstarz hold aloft the winner's trophy 

It was an emotional moment for us commentators too, especially when my fellow commentator, Ahmed Khawaja, and I were commentating on the last over. As a journalist, I have witnessed many emotional moments from winning and losing teams, but this one pained me the most. It was a win carved out by players with challenges, trying to push their bodies that do not yield in the manner they would like it to due to their disabilities. There was another reason too for Chennai players turning emotional. They were actually on the verge of dropping out of the tournament due to a paucity of funds to travel to Sharjah.  They had given up all hopes of being able to play at this historic venue from where legends of the game had produced unforgettable moments in cricket, something they had only watched on television.

Chennai captain Sachin Siva, bursting into tears during the prize-giving ceremony speech, revealed why his whole team had turned emotional after winning. “We had almost given up all hopes of coming here and playing at this venue since we had not been able to collect the amount required to fly here. We were also not sure of getting a visa to come here.  Most of us don’t have regular jobs and we do not even know when our next income will come when we return home. So to fly here and play at this venue and return home with the trophy is a special feeling. All of this was possible only because of the timely help from Kamal Haasan who gave us the money to fly here. For that, we are extremely thankful to him.”  He also thanked Mazhar Khan, general manager of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, for the warmth and affection shown to all and having made them feel special.

Chennai team with Kamal Haasan before flying out to Sharjah 

The tale of the runners-up team, Kolkata Knight Fighters, is also no different. Their skipper, Suvro Joarder, was on the verge of clinching a place in the Bengal state team when a motorbike accident ended his dream in 2008. Though he lost his right leg, he never stopped playing cricket and went on to captain India’s physically challenged cricket team. 

Kolkata also has the vice-captain of India’s physically disabled team, Lav Verma. Lav is a fine left-arm spinner with a deformity to his right arm. He is a brilliant fielder and the speed with which he races to stop boundaries was a treat to watch. He was so quick on his feet that it seemed as if all shots were going to him, when in fact it was Lav who races to any shot. Most batsmen never risked taking a run when Lav fielded since his single-arm throw was very powerful and accurate.  Like Joarder, there was Ravinder Paul of Delhi Challengers, a farmer by profession from Punjab, who lost his left arm when it got caught in the grass cutting machine. He bowls accurately and bats with a single hand producing some wonderful shots.

The Divyang Cricket Control Board of India organised a spectacular presentation ceremony honouring all sponsors who had supported them. This tournament was streamed live on various facebook and YouTube channels by SF360 Digital Production. The coverage is available on the Facebook page of  mysportseye.

The Divyang Premier League  commentators from left: Neeil Ojha,  Sohaib Irfan - CEO SF360 Digial,  Ahmed Khawaja, K.R. Nayar and Shoeb Ahmed (not in picture)  

For Haroon Rasheed, Secretary-General and founder of Divyang Cricket Control Board of India, the event was a realization of a goal to stage the first edition at a venue like Sharjah and make it look like the IPL. He revealed that the work for the second edition, by including five foreign team players in each team and with probably eight teams, will commence soon.