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THE CRICKET CHAMPIONS

 


This article was published on Perspectives of The Himalayan Times in September 2017

After the success at the 2nd edition of T20 World Cup Cricket tournament for Blind held in January this year in India, the Cricket Association of Blind, CAB is now preparing its participation at 5th edition of ODI Blind Cricket World Cup that will be played between 10th to 25th January 2018 in Pakistan and in the United Arab Emirates.

As always CAB is facing some challenges in raising the required funding to ensure the participation of its 14 players and 6 officials in the tournament.

If you think that cricket has a big following in Nepal and if you consider that there is now a mandatory provision for big corporations to allocate 1% of their profit to corporate social responsibilities activities, it should not be too difficult for CAB not only to travel to the World Cup but also to do a better job at promoting the game nationally. 

Obviously partnerships are key to support CAB’s bid to the World Cup.  Here some suggestions on ways corporate, embassies, schools and individual citizens can support the undertaking.

Leveraging Blind cricket to promote Nepal internationally: yes at the end of the day we are talking about making a donation but you should think strategically and see a point in leveraging inclusive sports in the country. Recently some big names in the national industry have been backing the emerging of several national cricket leagues, namely Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL) and the Everest Premier League, EPL.

It makes absolute sense to put money into a popular sport like cricket, directly contributing in elevating the level of the game while at the same time helping developing local talents.

If the owner of each of these professional teams would invest one lakh rupees in supporting CAB’s bid for the next world cup, Nepal could project a very powerful image overseas, showing to the world that Nepal is an open and inclusive country that is promoting diversity.

Then, why not thinking of it as an invitation to visit Nepal? I guess it would even make sense for Nepal Tourism Board to get involved in the initiative and advertise the country through our amazing blind cricket players.

Moreover the leader of the group, the Founder of CAB, Army Major Pawan Ghimire is the most suitable person to promote the country: he is charismatic, always smiling and with a good dose of humor that can conquest people.

Money is important but is not everything: Imagine you are the owner of a small business, you like cricket and you sympathize for Major Pawan and his team but you do not have resources. Maybe you are a member of some clubs like Roundtable, Rotary, Lions or the Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs Forum, maybe you know some friends who have some connections with them.

You can promote CAB’s cause among them or maybe you can get in touch with CAB and offer some logistical help. A very easy thing would be to organize some fundraising parties or street food festival and invite as many people as possible. If this is far too complex, maybe you can get yourself into the social media and spread the word about the world cup.

If you are an NGO, you can also help: as said before, money is not everything. What you can do is get in touch with CAB so that you discuss with them how you can help. This is what ENGAGE is doing, working together with Pawan and his team to explore possible partnerships, approaching donors. CAB on other hand is always ready to support ENGAGE in multiple ways. In short NGO can work together and help each other.

If you are an ambassador, why not stepping in? Granted not all embassies are in a position to offer support. In the past the Australian Embassy has been working to make blind cricket more inclusive by involving more than hundred female players and this is really great.

Recently there was a positive and very cordial meeting between CAB and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. Certainly no one at CAB is giving for granted that the UAE Embassy will help but the fact that a senior diplomatic officer kindly agreed to meet Major Pawan and his team, showing great empathy and interest, was encouraging and was a morale booster. Just a meeting can truly make the difference. Maybe if your embassy won’t be able to help this time, possibly the next time you will be able to do something

If you are a school principal, why not inviting Pawan for a public speech? Here it won’t cost you a penny but actually you will have a great public speaker talking about social inclusion and sport. It will be a truly eye opener for your students!

These are just some ideas. Let’s say that if there is a will, there always a way.

Things are changing though too slowly. This week one of the national blind cricket players, Padam Badela won the Para-athlete of the Year award at the Pulsar Sports Award 2073 after scoring double century in Nepal’s 141-run victory over New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup in India. Hopefully corporates and individuals will take realize the benefits of working with CAB for the next world cup.

You can contact CAB at cabnepal@hotmail.com or contact Major Pawan at 9851140969

The Author is Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a local NGO partnering with youths with physical disabilities. You can contact him at simone_engage@yahoo.com

 

 


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