Blind cricket team en route to UK

LAHORE: The Pakistan Blind Cricket Team is all set to participate in the quadrennial International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games to be hosted this year in Birmingham, England.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Blind Cricket Team departed for the UK to participate in the IBSA World Games.

The Games have been held every four years since 1998, and include 12 sports for visually impaired people, including archery, chess, blind football, goalball and judo.

The 2023 blind cricket series will take place from August 17 to 26.

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Blind cricket is a variation of cricket for visually impaired people invented in Melbourne in 1922. The game is played today with adjustments such as a large cricket ball filled with ball bearings to provide auditory cues, and verbal signals such as the bowler shouting “Play!” when he releases the ball.

There are generally 11 members on each team. A minimum of four of these players must be totally blind (classified as B1)  and a minimum of three partially blind (B2). A maximum of four partially sighted (B3) players are also allowed.

The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) has selected 17 players for the IBSA games this year, and three officials will also accompany the national squad.

The team currently heading to England consists of Zafar Iqbal (B1), Riasat Khan (B1), Mohammad Shahzaib (B1), Fakhar Abbas (B1), Mohammad Salman (B1), Mohammad Asif (B1), Shahzeb Haider (B2), Anees Javed (B2), Moain Aslam (B2), Naimat Ullah (B2), Matiullah (B3), Mohsin Khan (B3), Kamran Akhter (B3), Akmal Hayyat (B3), and Israr Hassan (B3).

Captain Nisar Ali and Vice Captain Badar Munir are also among the B2 division.

Mohammad Jameel serves as head coach, while Maher Mohammad Yousaf Haroon also acts as coach and Tahir Mehmood Butt as trainer and umpire.