Mumbai:  The IDCA 1st T 10 Women’s Deaf Premier League 2024, in association with Serum Institute of India, a part of Cyrus Poonawalla Group, wasformally inaugurated in a glittering ceremony by the Chief Guest, Mr. Bhavin Thakkar, former cricketer, and three-times Ranji Trophy winner. Guest of Honor included Mr. Paschim Pathak, well know Umpire, Ms. Shalini Singh, Group Head – Brand & Communications, RPG Group, Mr.Jaswinder Narang, CEO, Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, representing Serum Institute of India, Cyrus Poonawalla Group, principal partner, Mr. Sujeet Jain, Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer, Nykaa.-Patron Partner, Sandeep Kumar, Head CSR-ICIL Ltd. CSR partner, Michael Kotas-Managing Director, John Cockerill India.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by a galaxy of dignitaries from the cricketing & corporate world supporting this maiden Women’s Deaf Premier League, Mr. Prashant Athawale, renowned Commentator; Dr. Chirag Doshi, notablestatisticianand Umpire;and Mr. Dev Dutt, BCCI Certified Coach.

Dedicated to nurturing upcoming sports talent among specially abled youth, Serum Institute of India, a part of Cyrus Poonawalla Group, has joined hands with the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) as the Principal Partner. In this role, the group will extend full support to IDCA for the hearing-impaired women’s tournament as they compete in this power-packed Deaf Premier League to win the coveted cup.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural ceremony, Thakkar said, "It is a proud moment for me to be associated with IDCA T10 Women's Deaf Premier League. This league provides a platform for specially-abled women to showcase their talent. They have worked really hard towards it, and I am truly glad to be associated with them. I am also thankful to all partners who are supporting this cause, and I look forward to being a part of it for the years to come. This is indeed a proud moment for me, and together by doing our bit, we can make a big impact for specially-abled women. Let's help them dream and believe that they too can achieve great heights."

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, IDCA president Sumit Jain said, “Today is an important tournament as it signals IDCA’s focus on promoting not only world-class cricket but also emphasis on nurturing diversity and inclusion. All our partners share our vision and are committed to helping hearing-impaired cricketing talent and join the ‘DaretoDream’ movement to mainstream these players who have won many accolades for India. This is also a very special tournament as it is the first IDCA T 10 Women’s Deaf Premier league in 2024.”

IDCA CEO Roma Balwani welcoming the chief guest andguest of honour at the inaugural ceremony said, “We are truly honouredby the presence of dignitaries who have come today to celebrate and motivate these hearing-impaired women of substance, who will demonstrate their prowess on the cricket field.Our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Modiji has been championing the cause of disability sport in a significant way. He has also promoted the universal usage of sign language which will create more awareness and help break barriers for the hearing-impaired members of communities at large”.

IDCAcommented patron Reena Jain Malhotra said, “It was a special moment for us at IDCA to see our women players come together to play the prestigious maiden IDCA T-10 Deaf Premier League in Mumbai. We are very thankful to all our support partners for their belief in the cause of hearing-impaired cricket. We hope to nurture and make it bigger and better in the year to come”.

Indo Count Industries and IDCA’s CSR partner chairman Anil Jain for this tournament in his congratulatory message to the teams said, “The human spirit is always full of ability, perseverance and courage, which helps in removing barriers related to disabilities.When the promotion of sports is in the fray, this spirit achieves even greater significance. We wish the Indian Deaf Women Cricketers all the very best to compete amongst themselves with their best abilities and play the beautiful game of cricket in best of the spirit”.

In support are IDCA’s long term partners, KFC India, Hero Moto Corp, Collearn, Impact Research, Cognito & Kaizzen.