Differently-abled cricketers long for a level-playing field

They are far from finding one, but they are not giving up hope

It is around 5 p.m. and A Shanmugam excuses himself when this reporter calls him. He is at work – this time at a wedding function where he thumps drums for a living. Otherwise, he accompanies his father who plays the parai (a kind of drum) at funerals. Cricket is Shanmugam’s first love and knows Sachin Tendulkar’s records like the back of his hand.

Born with his left arm ending just below the elbow, those in disability sports, consider him an all-rounder. He can hit a ball really long. With the ball, he is quite nippy off the pitch. For the first T20 PhysicalDisabilityWorld CricketSeries held in England in 2019, Shanmugam was among the 30 shortlisted Indian players.

Though his peers think there is not a thing that this 29-year-old, who has a diploma in teacher’s training, cannot do on the cricket field, the sad fact that he is leading a hand-to-mouth existence, remains.