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8 teams to feature in UAE deaf WC next year: Zahir

By APP
August 08, 2019

LAHORE: Deaf cricket one day World Cup will be played next year in Oct/Nov in United Arab Emirates with eight countries participating in the mega event.

This was stated by Pakistan’s Chief Executive Officer of the Deaf international cricket council (DICC), Zahir ud Din Babar while talking to APP here on Wednesday after his return from Dubai after attending DICC annual general council meeting. “It was a very productive meeting which fixed the dates and selected the venues of the World Cup which will be played in Sharjah,” he said.

He said Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, Nepal, South Africa and Sri Lanka will be featuring in the elite cricket event.Zahir said the meeting attended by the representatives of Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and UAE cricket Board discussed in the length matters pertaining to the further uplift of the deaf cricket around the globe.

“We have already applied for affiliation with the International cricket Council and requested them to amend their affiliation criteria granting us provincial affiliation at the moment and bring down the number of affiliated members countries from ten to six,” he said.

“As compared to normal cricket we have lesser number of hearing impaired cricketers involved in the game all over the world and that is why we have asked the ICC to give us three to four years time to fulfill the condition of having ten full members countries affiliated with DICC”, said DICC official. “We are confident that ICC will give a due consideration to our request keeping in view our strenuous efforts to popularize deaf cricket in the world,” he asserted.

Zahir said England’s Stefan Pichowski who is the Chairman of the DICC presided over the meeting which reviewed the overall performance of the affiliated countries for the further uplift of the game in their respective countries.

“The meeting has decided that all the members countries will send their six months performance report to DICC to speed up efforts for the development of the game,” he said.

He said the representatives of the UAE cricket Board also showed interest in establishing deaf cricket in all the Gulf States besides forming their deaf men and women cricket team and DICC will provided them all the technical assistance in this regard. “As per the policy of the ICC it has been made mandatory for the all the members countries to form their separate deaf women teams besides establishing deaf women cricket wings to work under the supervision of their respective deaf cricket body,” said the DICC CEO. He said it is hoped that Pakistan Deaf Cricket Association will select its women deaf cricket team till the end of this year.