India’s blind women cricketers are on the brink of history as they compete in the first-ever Blind Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup — a landmark tournament that has brought extraordinary visibility to athletes who have overcome immense personal and social barriers to reach the world stage.
The six-nation event, featuring India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and the United States, began on 11 November in Delhi before moving through Bengaluru and now into its knockout phase in Colombo, Sri Lanka. India dominated the round-robin stage, winning all five of their matches en route to becoming the first team to secure a semi-final spot.
Most players on the 16-member Indian squad come from rural communities, farming households and small-town hostels, often introduced to cricket by teachers, disability organisations or local outreach camps. Team manager Shika Shetty said language, cultural barriers and a lack of awareness initially held families back from allowing girls to play. “Most of the players come from rural backgrounds. Families weren’t sure; teachers weren’t sure. But today they’re all representing India with pride,” she said.
Blind cricket is played with a plastic ball fitted with metal bearings, allowing players to locate it by sound. Players are classified into three categories — B1 (totally blind), B2 and B3 — and teams must field a mix of all three. The ball is bowled underarm along the ground, and B1 batters use runners, with each run counting double.
India is led by captain Deepika TC of Karnataka, who lost her vision as an infant following an accident. Raised in a farming family, she never imagined sport would shape her life. Encouraged by teachers at a specialised school, she found confidence and direction through cricket. Leading India in the sport’s first global women’s championship, she said, marks “the biggest moment of my and my team’s life,” adding that support from Indian stars Jemimah Rodrigues and Shubman Gill has been deeply motivating.
Vice-captain Ganga Kadam of Maharashtra, one of nine siblings in a farmer’s family, discovered blind cricket through school and learned the game slowly, developing trust in sound, timing and spatial orientation. Today, she inspires visually impaired girls in her village to pursue sport.
Top-order batter Anekha Devi, 20, from Jammu and Kashmir, was born partially blind. Encouraged by her visually impaired uncle, she joined a blind cricket camp in Delhi after school. Overwhelmed at first, she quickly adapted to the audible-ball format and earned her spot on the national team within two years.
All-rounder Phula Saren, 18, from a tribal community in Odisha, lost vision in one eye at age five and grew up without her mother. She found cricket through a teacher at a school for the blind and persisted despite travel challenges and family hesitation. Her turning point came when she realised she truly belonged at the national level.
Madhya Pradesh’s Sunita Sarathe took an unconventional route. After college and several jobs, she joined a blind cricket camp at a friend’s urging, feeling she had arrived “late.” Coaches say her dedication made her one of the team’s most reliable fielders.
While men’s blind cricket has been organised internationally since 1996, this year marks the first Women’s Blind Cricket World Cup — a milestone that required years of work. The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), which governs the sport domestically, began systematically scouting female players only in 2019. Their first international match came in 2023, followed by a gold medal at the IBSA World Games in Birmingham the same year.
CABI chairperson Mahantesh GK said the organisation wanted to correct a long-standing gap. “We believed we were doing injustice by not giving visually impaired women the same opportunities as men. Money was a challenge. Getting teams was a challenge. But we persisted, and now the response from government, sponsors and the public has been remarkable.”
Matches from the World Cup, including the upcoming semi-finals and Sunday’s final in Colombo, are streamed on CABI’s YouTube channel, Prasar Bharati platforms and Doordarshan, greatly increasing exposure for the athletes and the sport.
Coach Shetty believes the visibility is already changing perceptions. “Now that families are watching these girls play live and seeing their performances, they’ll feel more confident allowing their daughters to pursue the sport. It won’t feel like an unknown path anymore,” she said.