Deaf Chennai Blasters Team wins IDCA 4th Deaf Indian Premier League 2023

New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) Deaf Chennai Blasters Team won the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) 4th Deaf Indian Premier League, which was organised in Kolkata in association with Bengal Cricket Association for the Deaf (BCAD).

The Deaf Chennai Blasters Team beat Deaf Bangalore Badshahs Team by 152 runs (DLS method, match reduced to 13 overs) in the final to win the tournament.

Following the match, the participants were felicitated at the Merlin Rise, Sports City, Club Pavilion Cricket Ground, Rajarhat, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Speaking about the IDCA T20 Deaf IPL, Sumit Jain, President, IDCA asserted, "We are delighted to close this very successful tournament with the support of Ankit Agarwal, President, Bengal Deaf Cricket Association & his team. It was a wonderful experience to be in Kolkata with eight teams coming from all over India for the first time to Kolkata to participate in the IDCA 4th T20 Deaf Indian Premier League, 2023.

"Congratulations to the winning team Deaf Chennai Blasters & runner up team Deaf Bangalore Badshahs. IDCA is grateful to all our sponsors, all teams & officials sporting spirit who participated wholeheartedly in this special Deaf IPL," he added.

The state teams which participated in the league were - Deaf Bangalore Badshahs, Deaf Chennai Blasters, Deaf Kolkata Warriors, Deaf Hyderabad Eagles, Deaf Rajasthan Royals, Deaf Mumbai Stars, Deaf Punjab Lions, Deaf Delhi Bulls.

"The enthusiasm you saw amongst the boys was really heartening to see & I would like to congratulate the IDCA team which gave the platform to express themselves. I am sure in future some of these boys may go to represent their state & maybe India as well. They just need to be encouraged with more such tournaments on a regular basis," former Indian cricketer Devang Gandhi was quoted as saying in a media release.

Roma Balwani, CEO, IDCA said," Our endeavour & aim is to promote our social campaign for disability sport, 'Cricket for a Cause'. We are delighted to welcome our guests -- Devang Gandhi, Sushil K. Goenka, Director, Emami Group, Sandeep Agarwal, CFO, Emami Agrotech, Satyen Sanghvi, Director, Merlin Group -- in our closing ceremony.

"Delighted to be here today at the closing ceremony of this special Deaf IPL and to welcome & meet these amazing specially abled cricketers who have come to Kolkata from across India to participate in this tournament. We are proud to be associated as Patron for IDCA 4th T 20 Deaf Indian Premier League, 2023 organised by Indian Deaf Cricket Association, which is nurturing & providing a platform for deaf cricketing talent. This resonates with our social purpose of embracing & supporting the under-addressed individuals & community," said Sushil K Goenka, Director, Emami.

"We have witnessed one of the superlative performances by the best cricketing talents with hearing impairment from across India at the IDCA 4th T20 Deaf IPL. I wholeheartedly wish all the cricketers the best in their future endeavours. We from Merlin are happy to felicitate best individual talents in categories like Super Sixes, Best Fieldsman of the series, Best wicket keeper of the series, fastest fifty and highest wicket takers. We hope to support such initiatives in future also. We hope the ODI among Nepal, Bangladesh and India will be a good experience for us. These talents should be recognised at all levels," said Satyen Sanghvi, Director, Merlin Group.

The event was sponsored & supported by its corporate partners Hero MotoCorp, KFC India, Emami, Group, Merlin Group, Merlin Rise; Club Pavilion, Nykaa, Impact Research & Measurement, Banka Jewels, SK House of Jewellery, Ganeshji Maharaj Jewellery, Silver Arts, Trisys, Jagdamba Jewellers & Kyra Jewelz.