6th Dilmah Challenge Trophy for the national blind cricket will be played from 3rd June to 29th July around the island.
Blind Cricket in Sri Lanka started way back in 1952. The School for the Blind in Ratmalana was the central place for this sport in Sri Lanka. The origin of Sri Lanka’s visually impaired cricket was in 1952 with the first match being played under the patronage of the then Hon Prime Minister D.S Senanayaka. The growing popularity of blind cricket led the way to form a National Blind Cricket Association in 1996 which was led by S.L Hettiarachchi.
The world’s international T20 Blind Cricket Series was held in Bangalore, India in 2017 and the Sri Lanka blind cricket team defeated England, Australia, South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh and West Indies to become third in the world cricket ranking. India won the title while Pakistan became runner-up.
“The growth of the cricket for the visually impaired in Sri Lanka is an encouragement for the blind to reach their full potential. National blind cricket tournament is a manifestation of their strengths. It is everyone’s responsibility to help them develop their talents. I hope that the visually impaired cricketers would gain due recognition through the event, said Dilmah Founder, Merrill J. Fernando at a media briefing this evening.
Last year it was “Ranaviru Sewana Cricket Club” who clinched the 5th Dilmah Challenge trophy. Twelve teams participated in the tournament and 37 matches were played from April to June 2016. Dilmah has been supporting this event since 2005 and it has been playedas a National tournament continuously.
Eleven teams from 6 provinces will be representing the 2017 Dilmah Challenge Trophy limited over tournament which will be worked off in Monaragala & Colombo. This tournament is an opportunity for all the visually handicapped to showcase their talents and get a step closer to the National Blind Cricket team.
- Ranawiru Sevana Ragama
- Shakthi Sports Club
- Super Kings Tangalle
- Rajarata Jayawiru
- Council for the Blind
- Siha Shakthi Sports Club
- Senahasa Sports Club
- Jaffna Sports Club
- Subaggya Sports Club
- Brilliant Sports Club
- School for the Blind
