No words: Hearing impaired coaches future cricketers

Slug: International Day of Sign Languages.Vadodara: Every day at the cricket ground, 13-year-old Nihan Dave waits for a pair of hands to speak. A raised palm, a circling motion, a finger pointing toward the crease — each sign from his coach, Imran Sheikh, means something. Sheikh, who is hearing and speech impaired, has never shouted instructions in the nets. He cannot hear the crack of the bat or the cheer of a six. Yet, he coaches around 40 ‘normal' children at C A Patel Learning Institute school in Mota Fofaliya village in Sinor taluka of Vadodara. Many of them went on to play in the tournaments organised by the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA). In what can be called a unique example, Sheikh is probably the only deaf and mute coach who trains cricketers who can hear and speak normally. "When I was offered the job, I wasn't sure initially as sign language is difficult to understand. How will I make the children understand my thoughts and give them cricketing tips? But I took it as a challenge. I asked my wards to pay attention to my hand movements and my facial expressions," Sheikh, former captain of the Indian deaf cricket team, expressed. Gradually, the cricket aspirants aged between 10 years to 20 years picked up his sign language and began following his instructions meticulously. Sheikh, an all-rounder, makes them work hard on the field and in the nets. "Despite his limitations, I never had a doubt about Sheikh's abilities. I was confident that my son would learn good cricket under Sheikh, who is an exceptional coach. Sheikh doesn't just deliver instructions but takes questions from the young cricketers and suggests improvements," said Nihan's father, Dr Himanshu Dave. Nihan, a batting all-rounder, was coached under Sheikh for three years and went on to play in the Under-12 inter-district tournament. He is currently being coached by the BCA. Jitendra Patel, trustee, C A Patel Learning Institute, said, "When we roped in Sheikh, his hearing and speech disability didn't even cross our mind. All we saw was a very talented sportsperson with a desire to coach young kids and pass on his cricketing skills. Sheikh had a good cricketing career and he even captained the Indian deaf cricket team," he said. "Sheikh is a very popular coach and he pays attention to each of his wards not just in the practice sessions but also during the matches. We are fortunate to have him at our school," Patel added.