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Down but not out

The old adage `Where there is a will, there is a way', holds good for these differently-abled cricketers who show the way for many, writes SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

PHOTOS: K.R. DEEPAK

DETERMINED LOT Up against odds they have a point to prove.

Straight down the 22-yard track, he looks like an accomplished cricketer in whites. His poise, stance and balance make him look like a copybook player in batting gear. Not only that, when he launches on a cover drive or a short-arm pull they are well-timed and power-packed. Move down to the square of the wicket on any side and one would find something missing. The batsman would be found standing on one leg. Meet Eswarapu Vasu, the 25-year-old cricketer whose right leg was crushed under the wheels of a lorry a day before the Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations six years ago.

"We were going to bring the idol of the Lord when our van collided with a lorry. I lost my leg and my right hand was injured with multiple compound fractures. In that accident I lost two of my friends also," laments Vasu.

Hailing from a middle class family in Visakhapatnam, Vasu was passionate about the game since his childhood. Just at the time when he was shaping up well in club cricket to take to the higher levels of the game the tragic incident crushed his ambitions.

"But I have not lost heart. It took me one full year to recuperate from the accident. And after a few moths I once again took to the field without informing my parents. It was my close friends who helped me at that time. They would literally carry me to the ground and help me balance on one leg."

After sweating it out for two to three hours daily for the last four years, today Vasu is in a position to decimate a good bowling attack. He shuffles on the heel and toes to get the line of attack right and then drives, pulls, hooks, cuts or plays a front foot prod with flamboyance. He has got all the strokes in his repertoire and he does it with aplomb. He can even negotiate the short-pitched stuff with finesse by hopping back a few inches.

"He is our star batsman. We regard him as our Sachin," says his team member Ramesh from Jaggiahpeta. Ramesh, whose right hand is affected with 80 per cent polio, is the left arm fast bowler of the team. And he models behind the Indian left armer, Zaheer Khan.

A flowing drive by Vasu a team member taking a diving catch at the nets

Be they Vasu, Ramesh, Mohan Rao, Rajiv Kumar, Shafi or Roshan Kumar, they all have one thing in common - they are differently-abled and they claim to be the members of the State Disabled Cricket team sponsored by the Andhra Cricket Association for the Disabled.

Another thing that hold the members of the team together is the zeal to excel in the game despite their handicap. "We are annoyed if somebody sympathises with us. We are as good as any normal cricketer and we want to play matches with the regular teams to prove ourselves," says Ramesh.

A close watch at the nets would make one realise his bold statement. On the field they are as agile and sharp as any regular cricketer. They would not mind to fling themselves to take a diving catch in the slips or go for a sliding stop near the boundary line.

The unique aspect is each one of them has converted the disability to their advantage. Mohan Rao who hails from Vijayawada models behind Anil Kumble. With polio afflicted legs, his `fastish googly' is deceptive. It can even catch the best of batsmen on the wrong foot at times. The same is the case with Rajiv Kumar. His right leg is afflicted with polio and he is considered as the `wall' of the team. "I can hang on for 40 to 50 overs at a stretch and I just love Rahul Dravid batting," says he.

The members of the disabled team also share a common dream. They all wish to represent the country at the international level. "When I was fully fit I dreamt of becoming someone like our own Venugopala Rao. He has contributed a lot to my batting skills. From his university days I would watch him play. Today, I dare not revive that dream but I certainly wish to represent the country at the international level under the disabled category and I am working hard for it," says Vasu.

Like the common dreams and aspirations they also have a common problem. Most of the boys come from middle class families and right now they have one agenda in mind - a job.

Vasu is desperate to take up any job as he realises that the time has come to take care of his aging parents and his cancer-affected brother.

"Our orgnisation is not recognised by BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India). It is only affiliated to Indian Cricket Federation for the Disabled, Lucknow. For all tournaments, be it national or international, we have to raise our own funds. Even there is no initiative from the State, so the question of sports quota or any such recognition does not arise.

We have fight our own battle and that is the reason why we are planning to host a national championship at Hyderabad in October," informs C. Mohan Kumar Naidu, joint secretary of the association.

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