‘Best bowler’ rises like a phoenix in tournament for the disabled

Kameswar Das shows off his bowling skills and, right, on the day of the final of the Bir Lachit Divyang National Cricket Tournament.

Kameswar Das shows off his bowling skills and, right, on the day of the final of the Bir Lachit Divyang National Cricket Tournament.   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

25-year-old performs his mother’s last rites and presents himself for the final

The Assam team heaved a sigh of relief when Kameswar Das — his head tonsured — walked into the Guwahati University cricket field minutes before the Bir Lachit Divyang National Cricket tournament final against Karnataka was scheduled to start.

Mr. Das was not expected to play the tournament clincher on Tuesday despite guiding his team to the final with spells of medium fast bowling. The 25-year-old had to perform his mother’s shraddh (last rites) at Patacharkuchi, about 100 km north-west of Guwahati.

Ravi Chauhan, secretary general of Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India, said, “‘You must play,’ I told him, ‘because your mother believed in you.’ God wanted him to play too, as rain in the morning forced us to start the T20 match at 1 p.m. The delay helped him arrive at the nick of time.”

‘Best bowler’ rises like a phoenix in tournament for the disabled

Mr. Das’ seam bowling — he took two top-order wickets for 11 runs in the stipulated four overs — with the white leather ball helped Assam bundle out Karnataka for 99. But Assam’s batsmen faltered and the home team lost by 18 runs.

Consistent play

Mr. Das, however, walked away with the best bowler trophy for bagging seven wickets in three matches. Teammate Ali Akbar was adjudged man of the series for scoring 65 runs and taking six wickets. “Such is the consistency of Kameswar’s line and length, almost like Glenn McGrath, swing and variation of pace around the average 110 kph that local teams of people regarded as normal hire him for ₹500 per match,” Mr. Chauhan said. The format of the Divyang tournament is such that only six state teams qualify annually.

Apart from hosts Assam, the teams for this edition of the tournament were two-time champions Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

Mr. Das has been an Assam team regular for six years, a rare feat for a polio-struck person who suffered from depression too. “My mother gave me courage, said my hands are assets and I should make them talk,” Mr. Das said. She died a week before the national tournament began.

“We will ensure he plays for his other mother — India,” Mr. Chauhan said.