During an international sports event in any part of the world, whenever a team walks around the field in front of thousands of spectators, the spectators stand up and greet the players running on the ground, they are greeted with enthusiastic applause. It becomes a memorable and unforgettable moment of life not only for this country, but also for this team and every player of this team, and these moments can also be considered as the total earnings of his life, from the remote villages of Mansehra in the hilly region of Pakistan. Waqif Shah, a spin bowler from the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Team, also has fond memories of moments that still haunt him today. During the tournament in England in 2019, at Worcestershire Ground, he had the opportunity to walk around the ground in front of thousands of spectators wearing green shirts and wearing the green crescent flag of Pakistan. Tears of joy came to his eyes.
Waqif Shah belongs to the Pakhtun tribe of Khattak, which is why he does not give up easily and is seen fighting till the last ball on the field, he has won many matches alone with both his bowling and batting at the last minute. Waqif Shah contracted polio at the age of five and became seriously ill, affecting his left leg. However, he did not allow his deficiency to overwhelm him. They used to mingle and play all the games together. They also got interested in cricket after watching cricket teams in and around their villages. His PT teacher included him in the team, he not only batted well in the match but also excelled in bowling and won the match for his team, after which he was never dropped from the school team.
During his school days, his spin bowling and aggressive batting spread in the area. It was now known that the captains of normal teams in the area would beg him to join their team. Waqif Shah played very good club cricket for many teams during this time and later moved to Islamabad. Here a friend of his told him that disabled cricket has started in Pakistan, Islamabad team is also playing national championship, you should also try to play this style of cricket. Listening to a friend, he gave trials to join the Islamabad team where he was selected by coach Tahir Bhai. Thus, he played his first National Disabled Championship in 2015 and led his team to victory with excellent bowling in five matches. He was also the man of the match for two of them.
After joining the national disabled cricket team, national coaches Sabih Azhar and Iqbal Imam also worked with him a lot. Waqif Shah has taken 11 wickets in eight matches for Pakistan while he has taken 39 wickets in national cricket. He has also taken five wickets twice and four fours five times. His best bowling is in four overs. Giving 15 runs remained five. Waqif Shah is one of the players who has toured England twice. “I consider it my good fortune that I was selected twice for a tour of England, the home of cricket.” Waqif Shah began to tell. “I could not have imagined that during my cricket journey starting from a small hilly ground in Mansehra, I would also play on the historic grounds of England which millions of normal cricketers dream of but cannot interpret. “Certainly all the credit goes to the PDCA, which gave me the opportunity to play cricket for Pakistan.”
Waqif Shah has won many matches for the Islamabad team thanks to his talent. His game was at its peak in the last National Championship held in Pindi Islamabad. He was the man of the match in three consecutive matches and this is a trivial matter. Was not “Like every cricketer, I loved coming on TV.” Waqif Shah said looking at the windows of memories. “During the same event, when I was told that if we win today’s match, our next match will be televised live. We decided to win the match. I took four wickets to lead my team. He brought success and then enthusiastically told everyone, including his family, that my next match will be on TV. There is no limit to this excitement. If you are a sportsman, you can only imagine the intensity on the ground. It can only be done by staying. ”
He acknowledges that the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association has a big hand in changing his lifestyle, giving a person who is disabled a chance to showcase their talents in the best grounds in Pakistan and England. This is not a trivial matter. They also realize that their own abilities have their place, but nature also creates the means to provide opportunities and nature chose the PDCA for this purpose.
Waqif Shah is also very happy that he got the opportunity to build his own house in his village by playing disabled cricket from Pakistan which was his dream. “Yes! A private home is every servant’s dream.” Says Waqif Shah. “I represented Pakistan, played national and international cricket, I have no other source of livelihood, it is thanks to the PDCA that I made my home.” Waqif Shah is currently preparing for the next National Disabled Cricket Championship and is hopeful that he will win several Man of the Match awards this time as well.
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.