Applauding Pakistan’s Disabled Cricketers

By Ranee Mohamed

He is the father of  cricketer Roshan Mahanama. But it is not about his son’s cricketing successes that he is talking about. On a visit to Pakistan  recently Dr. Upali Mahanama had viewed a different kind of cricket match – a team and a playing of the game that remains deeply rooted in his mind.

“While in Pakistan I met Mehboob Shah, a great cricketer and an ex-test umpire produced by Pakistan,” said Mahanama.

“There was hardly, if any, shade and colour of cricket that I might not have experienced on cricket grounds, including great performances and individual demeanours. I had my ups and downs too,” confides Shah.

“My friends from Florida, U.S.A. introduced me to this newest brand of cricket in Pakistan they had watched on TV and wanted to see more of it on arrival in Karachi. What they told me about this cricket was beyond me. There were talking about disabled cricket,” says Shah.

The motivation to start cricket for the disabled came from a polio-stricken schoolboy Salim. But despite being a better batsman he used to be dropped from the team every time an able bodied player was available. Disheartened by this unfair treatment he had given up playing cricket.

A decade later however he had discussed with his friend Amir Uddin the heartbreaking circumstances that had led to his ouster from cricket. Amir Uddin had been quick to propose the organisation of a cricket association for the disabled.  Amir Uddin who discussed the issue with his friend Mohammed Nizan and set out to find disabled players in the streets of the suburbs of Karachi where they thought the disabled belonged. The initial search failed. But with the help of the print media they were able to reach the masses and things changed, dramatically.

As soon as the word about disabled playing cricket against normal  players and winning got around, more and more disabled players started registering themselves not only in Karachi but also in other cities of Pakistan.

Upali Mahanama however had little or no interest in watching a game played by disabled players. Not until he had to. “I was the guest of honour  of the  Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association,” said  Upali Mahanama.

And it was not right for Mahanama to expect the best from a team that called themselves the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association. Thus it was with a limited interest that he tried to focus on the match being played.

“But what shocked me when watching the game was their moves, precision and agility. This cannot be true, I thought. They would come running and rest on the crutch and throw a ball that would put many an abled bowler to shame,” said Mahanama.

“The captain of the team and the President of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association Saleem Karim (PDCA) happens to be a victim of Poliomyelitis,” said Mahanama.

“I always had the gut feeling that the disabled are no less than other mortals and despite their handicap they can also perform normally in the field of sports. My feelings were aptly demonstrated during the recently organised disabled championships which proved that with slight encouragement the disabled can perform wonders,” says Saleem Karim.

Many of the Sri Lankan youth have the best of training and resources at hand. “Roshan was seven years old and Devaka was ten when they were taken to A.C.M. Lafir and asked to let them ‘be with the boys and get the feel of cricket’. Soon they showed much passion,” recalls Mahanama

“Roshan was Best Batsman Under 13, Best Fielder Under 15, Best Batsman Under 17 and had the distinction of being the most popular schoolboy cricketer. They boys have played cricket here in our garden and in our previous home. My life has been surrounded by cricket,” said Mahanama.

But it is the game played by the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association that plays on in the mind of Mahanama.

“I wanted to suggest to them to get rid of the word Disabled from the team. They were translating  the 43 laws of cricket into urdu,” said Mahanama.

“At the time of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Associations’s formation, I was entrusted by its President Salim Karim, himself a disabled cricketer to organise the Association’s  affairs on the pattern of normal cricket….I am proud to say that during this short time we have been not only successful in organising two national teams but select a strong national team from amongst the best performers.  The Pakistan Disabled Cricketers were invited to tour Malaysia and Singapore and play a few matches against their selected normal clubs,” says Ameeruddin Ansari.

The rules remain the same and there are no excuses and concessions as the  Pakistan Disabled Cricketers continue to battle on. For them, it is not whether they are abled or disabled, but how they play the game that really matters.

Applauding Pakistan’s
Disabled Cricketers
By Ranee Mohamed
He is the father of  cricketer Roshan Mahanama. But it is not about his son’s cricketing successes that he is talking about. On a visit to Pakistan  recently Dr. Upali Mahanama had viewed a different kind of cricket match – a team and a playing of the game that remains deeply rooted in his mind.

“While in Pakistan I met Mehboob Shah, a great cricketer and an ex-test umpire produced by Pakistan,” said Mahanama.

“There was hardly, if any, shade and colour of cricket that I might not have experienced on cricket grounds, including great performances and individual demeanours. I had my ups and downs too,” confides Shah.

“My friends from Florida, U.S.A. introduced me to this newest brand of cricket in Pakistan they had watched on TV and wanted to see more of it on arrival in Karachi. What they told me about this cricket was beyond me. There were talking about disabled cricket,” says Shah.

The motivation to start cricket for the disabled came from a polio-stricken schoolboy Salim. But despite being a better batsman he used to be dropped from the team every time an able bodied player was available. Disheartened by this unfair treatment he had given up playing cricket.

A decade later however he had discussed with his friend Amir Uddin the heartbreaking circumstances that had led to his ouster from cricket. Amir Uddin had been quick to propose the organisation of a cricket association for the disabled.  Amir Uddin who discussed the issue with his friend Mohammed Nizan and set out to find disabled players in the streets of the suburbs of Karachi where they thought the disabled belonged. The initial search failed. But with the help of the print media they were able to reach the masses and things changed, dramatically.

As soon as the word about disabled playing cricket against normal  players and winning got around, more and more disabled players started registering themselves not only in Karachi but also in other cities of Pakistan.

Upali Mahanama however had little or no interest in watching a game played by disabled players. Not until he had to. “I was the guest of honour  of the  Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association,” said  Upali Mahanama.

And it was not right for Mahanama to expect the best from a team that called themselves the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association. Thus it was with a limited interest that he tried to focus on the match being played.

“But what shocked me when watching the game was their moves, precision and agility. This cannot be true, I thought. They would come running and rest on the crutch and throw a ball that would put many an abled bowler to shame,” said Mahanama.

“The captain of the team and the President of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association Saleem Karim (PDCA) happens to be a victim of Poliomyelitis,” said Mahanama.

“I always had the gut feeling that the disabled are no less than other mortals and despite their handicap they can also perform normally in the field of sports. My feelings were aptly demonstrated during the recently organised disabled championships which proved that with slight encouragement the disabled can perform wonders,” says Saleem Karim.

Many of the Sri Lankan youth have the best of training and resources at hand. “Roshan was seven years old and Devaka was ten when they were taken to A.C.M. Lafir and asked to let them ‘be with the boys and get the feel of cricket’. Soon they showed much passion,” recalls Mahanama

“Roshan was Best Batsman Under 13, Best Fielder Under 15, Best Batsman Under 17 and had the distinction of being the most popular schoolboy cricketer. They boys have played cricket here in our garden and in our previous home. My life has been surrounded by cricket,” said Mahanama.

But it is the game played by the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association that plays on in the mind of Mahanama.

“I wanted to suggest to them to get rid of the word Disabled from the team. They were translating  the 43 laws of cricket into urdu,” said Mahanama.

“At the time of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Associations’s formation, I was entrusted by its President Salim Karim, himself a disabled cricketer to organise the Association’s  affairs on the pattern of normal cricket….I am proud to say that during this short time we have been not only successful in organising two national teams but select a strong national team from amongst the best performers.  The Pakistan Disabled Cricketers were invited to tour Malaysia and Singapore and play a few matches against their selected normal clubs,” says Ameeruddin Ansari.

The rules remain the same and there are no excuses and concessions as the  Pakistan Disabled Cricketers continue to battle on. For them, it is not whether they are abled or disabled, but how they play the game that really matters.