India to Host 2nd Edition of Deaf ICC T20 World Cup

From November 23 to 30, Gurugram will be home to the Deaf International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, being hosted by the Deaf Cricket Society (DCS). The tournament will feature teams from Australia, Bangladesh, England, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa, as well as the host nation. The teams will be arranged into two groups, and each will play three Group Stage matches. The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Semi-Finals.

General Secretary of DCS, Sumit Jain spoke of the popularity of cricket overall among global viewers and how this promised to be a good boost for this tournament, saying, “Cricket is still one of the most popular sports played and watched in the country. In 2017 alone, the sport enjoyed 717 million TV viewers and around 27 billion impressions per week. The annual investment in Indian cricket is as much as Rs 8000 crore. And today we are confident that Disability sport such as Cricket will gain momentum and support by this world class tournament being held in India.”

Chairman of the Deaf ICC, Stefan Pichowski commented on the impact of the tournament on those with disabilities with reference to their social confidence, mentioning India as an ideal place to stage this edition of the competition, saying, “We are delighted that India is hosting the second edition of Deaf-ICC World Cup T20. The enthusiasm from the teams across the world is overwhelming and the visit to India will be very special as it is known for promoting the spirit of Cricket. Globally, initiatives to introduce cricket to people with disabilities has shown immense benefits. The sport has helped significantly in raising confidence levels, improving sensory and motor skills, quality of life and self-esteem as well as social skills and emotional growth.”