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‘Not charity, just cricket’: Inside high-stakes National Blind T20 Tournament where sound leads the way

Blind cricketers turn Pune grounds into arenas of endurance and determination.

Sanket Sharma, the Captain of Maharashtra team receiving the Man of the Match trophy on behalf of Abhijit Shritode (Express Photo)

3 min readPuneFeb 19, 2026 04:42 PM IST First published on: Feb 19, 2026 at 04:37 PM IST

On a February afternoon at Deccan Gymkhana Ground, the sound that guides the game is not the crowd but the soft jingle of the ball. As it rolls along the pitch, players listen closely, using sound to judge its direction and speed. For them, hearing replaces sight.

Pune hosted the National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Visually Impaired from February 15 to 19, bringing together eight teams from across the country for four days of fiercely contested cricket. Organised by the Blind Cricket Association in association with the Poona Blind Men’s Association and supported by the HCL Foundation, the tournament was a brilliant showcase of skill, discipline, and ambition.

“This is not charity cricket,” said Ravi Wagh, president of the Blind Cricket Association. A former national cricketer himself, Wagh has been at the forefront of blind cricket administration in Maharashtra for over a decade.

“Players come from all over India, and we are happy to provide them with proper facilities — from travel and stay to medical support and equipment. The only real challenge we face is finding suitable grounds,” Wagh said.

Blind cricket follows strict rules. Players are categorised as B1 (totally blind), B2 and B3 (partially sighted), and teams must field a mix of all three. The ball is bowled underarm along the ground, verbal cues alert the batter, and B1 players run with guides, with each run counting as two. “It is not easier than sighted cricket. It may actually be harder. You have to read sound, memory, and movement together,” said Maharashtra coach Dattatray Walke.

For players like Abhijit Shritode, who has scored centuries in his last two matches, the journey has been far from smooth. Coming from a farming family, Shritode says trophies mean little at home. “They want me to take a government job. But cricket is what I want to do,” he said, adding that fielding demands utmost patience and alertness. His dream is clear: to represent India at the World Cup and be Man of the Match against Pakistan.

Maharashtra captain Sanket Sharma calls cricket his “life partner”. Playing for over a decade, he credits the sport for giving him identity and confidence. “People should come and watch at least one match. Just like women’s cricket, once you watch it, you will respect it,” Sharma said.

At the end of the tournament, winners took home ₹32,000, runners-up ₹22,000, while all teams received a consolation prize-but the sums pale against the scale of effort on display. Here, on Pune’s grounds, the game proved once again that vision is not measured by sight, but by resolve.

(Rimil is an intern with The Indian Express)