Tribal girl Jhili Birua’s grit has conquered many odds — the most serious being her own visual impairment. It has also made her a player to be reckoned with in the Odisha Cricket Team of Visually Impaired Women (OCTVIW).
A quiet girl, Birua lives with her grandmother in Jhanjala, in Keonjhar district of Odisha, while her two elder brothers work outside the state. “Her mother passed away when she was five,” her coach Sukharam Majhi tells The Indian Tribal. “Her father died in an accident two years ago.”
Birua began playing cricket casually after she joined Betra Blind School, Bhadrak, in 2016. “I held the bat for the first time, which kindled my love affair with cricket,” she recalls.
Despite being a low-profile student at Betra, Birua was an explosive player. Today too, when she opens matches for OCTVIW, she morphs into a fiery hard hitter, much to her opponents’ consternation.
“When the pandemic almost stilled life, she worked as a labour,” says coach Majhi.
The Munda tribal girl’s demeanour has often left many doubting her capabilities, but she proved them wrong on the field. “During a triangular series for the visually impaired in 2017 in Dehradun, Birua was brushed aside as a feeble and fragile youngster,” remembers Mohammed Jafar Iqbal, president of Odisha Cricket Association for the Visually Impaired. “many eyebrows were raised when she became Player of the Match, with her score of 49 against Delhi.”
At a state-level tournament for the visually impaired in Bhadrak in 2017, Birua scored the fastest 28 for her school in the final against Balasore during a 10-over match and remained unbeaten. In a Bhubaneswar series in 2018, she scored 45 against Cuttack and again against Bhima Bhoi School during 15-over matches. She was deemed Player of the Match in both.
Soon after, Birua was inducted into OCTVIW. “Though reticent, Jhili sincerely follows my instructions on and off the field, and epitomises patience and confidence,” says her proud coach Majhi.
This year, Birua has scored 28, 64, 93 and 32 against Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka, respectively, during the second National Tournament, in Bengaluru.
Apart from the loss of her parents at a young age, Birua has faced some other setbacks too.
She missed the first National Tournament of 2019, held in Delhi. “The school kept her in the dark about it, as we refused to accept its demand that its two teachers accompany Jhili,” says Iqbal of the state cricket association. “She was quiet for the next two years, as cricket was out because of Covid-19.”
Iqbal believes it was quite a challenge for the young girl to walk straight into the second national tourney. However, he has high hopes for the talented tribal.
“India has never taken part in international tournaments. But it may participate in a tournament in Birmingham next year. I hope Jhili will be in the Indian team to play it,” he says.
