“My only dream was to hear my name on the commentary and it was fulfilled,” said visually impaired cricketer, Dilip Munde who was a part of the team that lifted the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup. Dilip had turned his back on the sport due to the stress of not receiving much support from the authorities following their victory at the World Cup in 2012. But the 32-year old is now back to lead the Maharashtra team in the 24th National Cricket Tournament organised by the Cricket Association for the Blind of Maharashtra.
Starting with a short run-up, the sturdy opening bowler rolls the ball over to the batsman while he waits to hear if he has picked the wicket for his team, as his vision is restricted to just six meters. Dilip is categorised as a B2 player as there are three different segregations for the visually impaired.
Soon after lifting the World Cup in 2012, Dilip felt the sport cannot help him financially as the prize money was a meagre '2 lakh rupees which was divided between 16 squad members. Flustered by this, Dilip decided to quit the game and pursue his career in teaching blind children. He did a diploma in special education and coincidentally, found a job at the school where he was once a student. “My parents work at farms for other people and to afford the fees, I borrowed money from various people. As soon as I was done with my diploma, I repaid them all one by one. I am proud that I provide for my whole family now,” asserts Dilip, who is married and has two children. “ I teach brail, math, and history,” he adds.
The Maharashtra skipper hails from a hamlet near Nanded known as Bodhadi, which despite being a village, has a school for the blind that is free of cost. Dilip was born with visual imparity and credits his schoolteachers who always encouraged him to achieve the most that he could in sports.
Although he was encouraged by his teachers to venture into cricket, Dilip as a kid was always by the radio listening to cricket commentary. “As a kid, we used to listen to the commentary. We dreamt about coming on the radio and people being able to hear about us batting or bowling.” What looked like an unattainable dream became reality in 2012 while he was bowling against Sri Lanka in Bangalore and Jayprakash Narayan was commentating on DD Sports. “I told my friends to record it. I still listen to sometimes. It felts startling when people from my village called me to congratulate me as they could hear my performance,” recalls a nostalgic Dilip.
Enjoying his time as a tutor, the World Cup winner is looking for a clerical job at a bank to settle down. The next World Cup will take place in Dubai and Pakistan in 2018. The Nanded lad has recently made his way back to the pitch and could be a surprise entry into the squad.
