Just some weeks prior to the big Cricket World Cup to be held at England and Wales, another team in Indian colour has set the prologue. India South team beat Team England in the finals of the Street Child Cricket World Cup that was held at the Lord’s.
After several play-off matches the India South team faced off with team England in the final. The Indian side won the Cup by scoring 47 runs against the 42 scored by the English players. Paulraj, the captain of the winning side said that it was a big joy and an out of the world feeling to receive the Cup. He was ably assisted by vice-captain Mani Ratinam of Mumbai who scored a six off the last ball. The team comprised A. Nagalakshmi, B. Monisha, K. Suryaprakash and Bhavani Veerakannu, Mohammed Irfan and Shama Moaaz Siddiqui.
The six-a-side tournament was held among eight participating nations- England, India South, Tanzania, Bangladesh, India North, Mauritius, Nepal and West Indies. The majority of teams broke gender barriers and allowed both boys and girls to participate together. Nearly 80 young people participated in the event that was organized by the charitable organization -Street Child United. The organization has been working for over ten years to use the power of sport to change the negative perceptions and treatment of street-connected children everywhere. Earlier they have organized Football tournaments and Street Child Games, all of which have been held in the host city of the Football World Cup and the Olympic Games respectively.
Paul Sundar Singh, the founder of Karunalaya NGO which partnered with Magic Bus of Mumbai in sponsoring the children of team India South said, “It was struggling to take the team to London for the World cup. We came with debt and deficit, but our aim is to give street children an opportunity like this and a platform for their voices to be heard.”
Taking the place on the podium, B. Monisha from Chennai spoke on behalf of the children. She urged to the gathering, “If you respect us, you will listen to us, if you listen to us, you will protect us. Please protect us.”
