TC Deepika, captain of India's victorious blind women's cricket team, hopes her World Cup triumph will spark progress in her impoverished Andhra village plagued by regressive customs and poor infrastructure. After raising concerns with state leaders, funds were allocated for vital road improvements. Her personal story of overcoming hunger and disability highlights broader challenges faced by rural women.
TC Deepika, the 23-year-old captain of India's blind women's cricket team, led her side to victory in the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind in Sri Lanka last November. The team defeated Nepal by seven wickets in the final in Colombo, a tournament organized by the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, the Cricket Association for the Blind in India, and co-hosted by the Sri Lanka Cricket Association for the Visually Handicapped. Deepika contributed 246 runs across five matches, including a standout 91 off 58 balls against Australia in the semifinals.
Following the win, the team received accolades at the Prime Minister’s residence, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. A pivotal moment came during a meeting with Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, where Deepika highlighted the lack of roads in her village of Tambalahatti, near the Karnataka border. “I told him that there are no roads to our village because of which we are facing trouble,” she shared. Kalyan promptly approved Rs 6.2 crore for the road project.
Tambalahatti, home to about 45 Yadav farming families, grapples with more than just connectivity issues. Deepika noted persistent regressive practices against women, such as requiring them to sleep outside during menstruation or pregnancy, and early marriages. Education is limited, often ending after Class 4, due to a lack of awareness. Her brother Girish echoed this, pointing to the village's educational constraints.
Deepika's own path began tragically: at five months old, an accident left her blind in her right eye, with treatment costing Rs 3,000—a fortune for her daily-wage laborer parents, who earned Rs 800 on good days and sometimes went hungry. The family scavenged fallen fruits, and Deepika recalled her grandfather dying of starvation. She studied at specialized schools in Karnataka and Mysuru, discovering cricket in Class 10. Selected for the national team in 2019 with support from manager Shikha Shetty and Samarthanam, Deepika sees the sport as a route out of poverty.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia praised the team's effort: “It was a great effort from Deepika and her team and I would like to congratulate them for their brilliant run in the tournament, which has made the whole country proud.” Deepika hopes her success will encourage education and challenge outdated norms in her community.
