Disabled Cricket: Age no problem! Ravalia wants to lead India at 47

At 47 Saurabh Ravalia is not only optimistic of playing for the country but is also keen on captaining Indias disabled cricket team in the first Physical Disability World Series in EnglandRavalia who led India against Afghanistan in a twomatch ODI series that ended 11 in Greater Noida last December helped West Zone beat North Zone and East Zone in the InterZone T20 Championship by 16 and 22 runs respectively yesterday Civil engineer Ravalia who is the West Zone skipper scored 29 and 26 respectivelyAlso ReadBCCI recognition but no funds for disabled cricketersGood rapportAs I have been playing for the country for so many years I have good relations with the players and they like to play with me Its an advantage for me I am optimistic of leading India in the World Series I have maintained my fitness and even at 47 I can play every game with great intensity But as there is competition for places in the team there is also competition for the captaincy post Everyone is trying their best Ravalia told midday yesterdaySpeaking about Indias chances in the World Series to be held in England from August 3 to 13 Ravalia said The Indian team members are tremendous We just need to play as a unit We come from different cultures and do not play together often so its important to play as a teamRavalia is facing competition from Indias current T20I skipper Swapnil Mungel 19 years his junior Mungel led India to a 21 T20I series win over Afghanistan last December Im optimistic of leading India in the World Series The wickets and weather conditions in England will be challenging so we have to give our 110 percent there said Mungel 28 a middleorder batsman and leftarm spinnerThe third cricketer in the captaincy race is North Zone skipper and pacer Dinesh Kumar Sain Experienced Sain 31 led Indias disabled team in the fivenation tournament held at Bangladesh in 2015 where they finished fourthAlso ReadCoA approves Indias participation in disabled World CupBalanced sideWe have a balanced side I am 99 per cent confident of India winning the World Series BCCI giving us recognition and supporting us is a first step forward Now more than one thousand disabled cricketers are actively playing in our country They have a good skill sets and that will help disabled cricket grow said SainPercentage issues for IndiaPercentage of disability criteria is going to play a major role in the Physical Disability World Cricket Series in England Though the England amp Wales Cricket Board ECB has allowed players to participate with 15 per cent disability the Indians are selecting players with disability of 40 per cent or aboveChairman of selectors Umesh Kulkarni will have to tackle this issue when the former India pacers committee sits down to select the team on May 20 For the last 30 years we are selecting players with 40 percentplus disability But as per the World Series rules England and other teams are selecting players with 15 percent disability We want to go with our current lot of players who have 40 percent disability It is a concern but lets see Kulkarni told midday yesterdayAlso ReadHarbhajan Singh to sponsor clothing for disabled teamCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates