The Blade Cricketer | Cricket World TV

If we look through the history of cricket there were big names who accomplished great things in the face of insurmountable adversity.

Deceases were conquered. Len Hutton, the batting legend of England had asymmetrical hands while India’s mystery leggie Bhagwat Chandrasekhar had polio in his bowling arm. England’s Tony Greig and fielding legend Jonty Rhodes had epilepsy. All of them transformed their adversity into prosperity.

But then a tragedy from nowhere is far more devastating. Meeting with an accident and following which losing a limb is an irreversible blow to a sportsman’s ambition. Martin Guptil, the current dashing New Zealand opener plays with two toes in his left foot. Guptil lost three toes in a forklift accident. Tiger Pataudi of India lost an eye through car accident but continued playing for the country. All these names stand out in the history of cricket when it comes to challenging adversity.

The names stated above are big and illustrious. Surely so. But there are unheard names battling here and there despite hit hard by tragedy. One such name is Subhro Joardar, a youngster from India in his twenties. Hailing from the city of Sourav Ganguly, Subhro nurtured a dream to grow big in the game that India loves most. The dream got crushed under the wheels of a car in 2008. Subhro’s right leg was amputated from below the hip joint.

The verdict from the orthopedics’ chamber was to spend the rest of his life under the crutches. But that was the doctor’s opinion. The boy, born with steely resolve would never give in. Fact is, persons with below the knee amputation have far greater freedom of movement when they put on an artificial leg. Oscar Pistorious, the infamous South African runner could sprint at Olympic level because he was a below the knee amputee. That’s why Subhro had huge odds to overcome. He had barely a few inches of flesh and bone left in his right leg to walk on.

After a frantic search Subhro found a German prosthetics company that provided him an artificial leg which is called blade. And as you speak of blade the name springs to mind is again Oscar Pistorious, known as blade runner.

Once he got that blade Subhro turned it around. He started playing matches with the fully able cricketers to develop a mind-set that he was never disabled. Just ignoring that he was wearing a blade, just believing that he was physically as good as an able person Subhro first made it to the Indian specially abled team and then went on to become the captain.

Cricketworld salutes physically challenged cricketers like Subhro living across the globe. They are never heard off for their cricketing ability. Their names will never figure in the hall of fame of cricket like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. But their undaunted spirit will inspire many to never give up in life.