The Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) has launched the first T10 Women’s Deaf Premier League in collaboration with Serum Institute of India, a part of Cyrus Poonawala Group.
The competition was inaugurated by several chief guests that included former Ranji player, Bhavin Thakkar, Pashchim Pathak, Shalini Singh, Jaswinder Narang, Sujeet Jain, and Sandeep Kumar.
Serum Institute of India has joined IDCA as a principal partner to nurture upcoming sports talent among specially-abled youth. In this capacity, the organisation will provide IDCA with full assistance in its new venture.
Speaking about the league, Mr. Bhavin Thakkar, commented, “It is a proud moment for me to be associated with IDCA T10 Women’s Deaf Premier League. This league provides a platform for specially-abled women to showcase their talent. They have worked really hard towards it, and I am truly glad to be associated with them. I am also thankful to all partners who are supporting this cause, and I look forward to being a part of it for the years to come. This is indeed a proud moment for me, and together by doing our bit, we can make a big impact for specially-abled women. Let’s help them dream and believe that they too can achieve great heights.”
Sumit Jain, President, IDCA, commented, “Today is an important tournament as it signals IDCA’s focus on promoting not only world-class cricket but also emphasis on nurturing diversity and inclusion. All our partners share our vision and are committed to helping hearing-impaired cricketing talent and join the ‘DaretoDream’ movement to mainstream these players who have won many accolades for India. This is also a very special tournament as it is the first IDCA T 10 Women’s Deaf Premier league in 2024.”
Ms Reena Jain Malhotra, Patron, IDCA, said, “It was a special moment for us at IDCA to see our women players come together to play the prestigious maiden IDCA T-10 Deaf Premier League in Mumbai. We are very thankful to all our support partners for their belief in the cause of hearing-impaired cricket. We hope to nurture and make it bigger and better in the year to come”.
Mr. Anil Jain, Chairman, Indo Count Industries and IDCA’s CSR partner for this tournament, remarked, “The human spirit is always full of ability, perseverance and courage, which helps in removing barriers related to disabilities. When the promotion of sports is in the fray, this spirit achieves even greater significance. We wish the Indian Deaf Women Cricketers all the very best to compete amongst themselves with their best abilities and play the beautiful game of cricket in best of the spirit”.