” Muhammad Nizam said once again looking at the past. “I remember very well the enthusiasm of Saleem Karim and Amir Bhai for organizing this match, including me, how eager we were to see the interpretation of our dream with our own eyes, even after that. We also played international cricket but the heartbeat that was random that day and the joy that was erupting in our souls was never realized after that. The match was inaugurated by former CEO Pakistan Cricket Board Arif Ali Khan Abbasi while the special guest of the closing ceremony was Shahid Afridi, the heartthrob of cricket fans, who not only praised the game of disabled cricketers but also assure all possible cooperation.
“The arrival of Shahid Afridi in our first match had lifted the spirits of not only us but also the players of our first disabled cricket team and they showed the best of their abilities against normal under-19 cricketers.” Muhammad Nizam kept saying. “Disabled cricketers came very close to victory and lost, but they proved their worth with this match. Media friends also came for the coverage of this match. They also showed keen interest in this new style of cricket. From this day onwards, full support of friends of media to Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association and Disabled Cricketers. To this day. Leading figures of Karachi cricket including Arif Ali Abbasi and Shahid Afridi came to the ground that day and gave us a lot of encouragement.
“Before the first match of Disabled Cricket, Amir Bhai and I had made the rules which are common among disabled cricketers all over the world today.” Mohammad Nizam, who has a sympathetic tone for disabled cricketers, was once again mentioned. “All the rules in disabled cricket are the same as in normal cricket but there are some exceptions for physically disabled players which are not seen in normal cricket. There is no restriction on crutches for those running on crutches. Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association Secretary Amir Bhai has a keen eye on cricket rules, so we were able to develop rules for disabled cricketers so that they can show their best skills on the field without any difficulty. They can do it.
“Finally, the day has come when the first physical disability cricket team we have formed, Pakistan, went on a tour of Pakistan for the first time.” An element of enthusiasm was now added to Muhammad Nizam’s discourse. “A sponsor was also arranged for this tour for which the efforts of Saleem Karim, the founder of Disabled Cricket and Amir Bhai were very much involved. The purpose of this tour was to go from city to city to play matches so that people would be aware of this disabled cricket and they would join us. It is worth mentioning here that we and our team traveled by Airplane. All the disabled cricketers were sitting on the Airplane for the first time. Boys who have always been rejected by the society who do not have easy access to buses and rickshaws should travel by Airplane. This was possible only because of Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association. The open faces of these players were telling that their hearts are praying to PPDCA from the bottom of their hearts. According to the program, we first went to Multan where our host was reliable umpire Jamil Kamran, due to rain the match could not be held there but we went to the field with our team. He also did some practice etc. and also met the media, and was told that now physically disabled cricket is being formed in Pakistan and this tour is also a link in the same chain, after that our next destination was Lahore. (to be continued)
The Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association (PDCA) is responsible for the promotion and expansion of the game through its associate and affiliate members throughout the country for all the Physically Disabled Cricketers of the country and PDCA is also recognized by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) who is the governing body of cricket in Pakistan.