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India and Pakistan blind women cricketers show sportsmanship in Sri Lanka on the world’s first blind women’s T20 tournament.
Nimra Rafique shakes hands with India’s players (Picture credit: AFP)
Blind women from India and arch-rival Pakistan put aside political tensions on Sunday, November 16, shaking hands in neutral Sri Lanka at a cricket tournament for the visually impaired.
At what organisers describe because the world’s first blind women’s T20 tournament, players from the 2 South Asian neighbours demonstrated sportsmanship despite their lack of sight, unlike their regular national teams.
Tensions each on and off the sector have been high since a deadly military clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
India’s men refused to shake hands with their Pakistani opponents on the Asia Cup in September, and neither side has shown signs of reconciliation since then.
This animosity prolonged to the ladies’s teams, who declined any greeting on the recent T20 World Cup, and to Sunday’s men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup match in Doha.
India’s blind players were expected to mirror the conduct of their sighted teams when there was no handshake after the toss, but at the top of the match, either side warmly greeted one another.
The 2 teams, who travelled to the venue together on the identical bus, not only shook hands but in addition exchanged generous compliments.
India won by eight wickets in only 10.2 overs after Pakistan were restricted to 135 for eight of their 20 overs on the Free Trade Zone grounds in Katunayake, 30 kilometres north of Colombo.
Pakistan skipper Nimra Rafique congratulated India on their comprehensive victory, while her Indian counterpart T.C. Deepika acknowledged Pakistan’s strong performance.
The teams applauded each other, but neither set of cricketers was permitted to seek advice from the media.
There have been hardly any spectators, however the match was shown survive Sri Lanka’s national television, Rupavahini. Blind Sri Lankan officials hosting the tournament “watched” the match on YouTube by listening to the commentary.
Indian team manager Shika Shetty told AFP before the match that the tournament was opening up opportunities for more women.
“That is the first-ever World Cup for blind women… I feel that is one in all the most important opportunities for our entire visually impaired girls,” said Shetty, who is just not blind.
“Perhaps many women with disabilities will come out of their villages. Perhaps they are going to come for studies, perhaps they are going to come for the game. So it is useful for other girls too,” Shetty added.
Blind cricket relies on a pointy ear, as players must detect a white plastic ball—the dimensions of a tennis ball—full of ball bearings that rattle because it moves.
Pakistan coach Tahir Mehmood Butt, also speaking before the sport, said the launch of girls’s blind cricket had created latest opportunities for young players in Pakistan.
“For the totally blind, in the event that they have good hearing, they will turn into good cricketers,” Tahir told AFP.
Each team must field a minimum of 4 completely blind players, three who can see as much as two metres, and 4 partially sighted players in a position to see as much as about six metres.
Totally blind batters can have a partially sighted runner. Bowling is underarm, unlike in the standard game.
4 other nations, Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the US, are competing within the tournament, which began in India and moved to Sri Lanka for the ultimate stages. The ultimate is scheduled for next Sunday in Colombo.
(With AFP Inputs)
Katunayake, Sri Lanka
November 16, 2025, 23:15 IST
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