Pakistan Blind Cricket Council

Pakistan Blind Cricket Council

پاکستان بلائنڈ کرکٹ کونسل
Sport	Blind Cricket
Jurisdiction	National
Abbreviation	PBCC
Founded	1997 (1997)
Affiliation	World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
Affiliation date	1997
Headquarters	64-J1 Block, Johar Town, Lahore
Chairman	Syed Sultan Shah
Other key staff	Maher Yousaf Haroon (General Manager)
Official website
www.pbcc.org.pk

Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) is the governing body of blind cricket in Pakistan. It was founded in 1997,^[1] and is a founding member of the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC), and a full member of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

It controls and manages all the tours and matches undertaken by Pakistan blind cricket team. It also promotes blind cricket at domestic level, and provides regular rehabilitation to the players.^[2]

Syed Sultan Shah is the current Chairman of the PBCC, having been in office since 2009. [[Profile

Name: Syed Sultan Shah

Designation:

President, World Blind Cricket Council &

Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council.

Syed Sultan Shah was born on 12^th January 1970 in village Chando Maira Tehsil Havelian Distt. Abbottabad (KPK). He became blind at the age of 9 years. He got his early education from Ida Rieu School for the Blind Karachi and obtained his Master's Degree in Political Science from Sindh University Jam Shoru.

Despite blindness, he translated the unique amount of talent he possessed and reached utmost excellence through sheer hard work, dedication, and devotion.

He started playing Cricket in 1983 at the age of 13 years. Some of his distinct achievements are,

Ø He was the first Captain of the Pakistan Blind Cricket team;

o He had the honor to bowl the first ball for Pakistan

o He got the 1^st International wicket for Pakistan on the 3^rd ball of his first over.

o He took the team to the final of the 1^st World Cricket Cup of the Blind 1998, where Pakistan, unfortunately, lost the final to South Africa. Pakistan stood Runners-up in it.

Ø But he took revenge in a great style after beating South Africa in South Africa by 6-0 in November 2000 and laid the foundation for future success. This was the first International series triumph for Pakistan brought under his captaincy.

Ø He also conducted the 3^rd World Cricket Cup of the Blind in Islamabad in Dec 2006 with great success, which was the first mega event for Special persons in Pakistan.

Ø Whereas, he initiated the Cricket For the blind in Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and their teams participated in T-20 and ODI World Cricket Cups of the Blind. Considering his services, the World Blind Cricket Council unanimously elected him as Director of Cricket Development WBCC for Asia Region in Nov 2008 and further elected him as First Vice President in 2011.

Ø Further, Recognizing his exceptional management skills and operational efficiency, the members of the World Blind Cricket Council elected him as President on multiple occasions from December 2012 to December 2017 and again in 2020, 2022 and 2024. He is the first-ever Pakistani with a disability to lead a global organization in any field.

Ø For the last Sixteen years, he is voluntarily serving as Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council and has taken this organization to new heights.

Ø He built up the Domestic Cricket Structure of Pakistan and currently, most of the Club Teams of Pakistan can defeat any stronger national side of World Cricket.

Ø He played a key role in reviving international sports in Pakistan by successfully inviting India in November 2011 and February 2014, Sri Lanka in April 2016 and South Africa in 2022. At a time when most international teams refused to play in Pakistan due to security concerns, he held successful negotiations with his Indian and Sri Lankan counterparts, convincing them to participate in these groundbreaking series. These events captured significant national and international media attention, promoting peace and harmony between countries and sending a powerful message to the world that “Pakistan is safe for sports.”

Ø He accepted the uphill task of Hosting the 5^th Edition of Cricket World Cup of the Blind (ODI format) in January 2018 in Pakistan and the U.A.E. That was the first Blind Cricket World Cup proposed to be hosted in multi-countries which required an additional budget. Accumulating financial and operational resources for this World mega event was a hard nut to crack, but he worked extensively hard and sensitize sponsors/donors to fund this event. Success comes through hard work and determination whereas the cost of success is “sacrifice”, he sacrificed his personal life and family’s time to attain pride for Pakistan. He inspired Bangladesh and Nepal to play their World Cup matches in Pakistan. The opening ceremony of the World Cup took place simultaneously in Lahore and UAE, connected through video link, and was reckoned amongst the best world-class ceremonies. The event was hosted magnificently and the grand final was conducted at the historic cricket ground of Sharjah, which was watched by almost 1 million people on YouTube.

Ø Under his exceptional leadership, the Pakistan Blind Cricket Team won the gold medal at the IBSA World Blind Games 2023 by defeating arch-rivals India in August 2023. The event, held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from 16 to 26 August, showcased the talent and sportsmanship of visually impaired athletes from over 70 countries across 11 sports.

Ø In 2024, he took on the challenge of hosting the 4^th T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in Pakistan. The tournament was successfully held from 22 November to 3 December 2024 in Lahore and Multan. Despite significant challenges particularly concerns over Punjab’s smog conditions, which at one point threatened to disrupt the event but all matches were conducted as scheduled. With immense pride, the Pakistan Blind Cricket Team emerged as champions, winning the T20 Blind Cricket World Cup for the first time in history. The opening ceremony in Lahore was hailed as one of the finest world-class events, while the grand final at Multan Cricket Stadium attracted almost half a million viewers on PBCC’s official YouTube channel.

Ø He against all odds launched the Women Blind Cricket in Pakistan, Women, and girls with disabilities experience double discrimination, which places them at higher risk of gender-based violence, and the scope of sports for Blind girls in Pakistan is also too limited thus playing cricket will help them a great deal to reduce the higher risk and to showcase their unseen abilities to the World.

Ø He hosted the World's first-ever International Women Blind Cricket Series i.e Nepal-Pakistan Women Blind Cricket Series in Pakistan Jan-Feb 2019. That was another proud moment for Pakistan. The colorful and magnificent inaugural ceremony of the series was admired widely and described as World Class staging. The said series clutched the attention of International & national media and gave the message that Pakistan is safe for Sports. It also highlighted that women with blindness are provided opportunities to display their skills and potential in the field of play, thus adding to the Global agenda of Leaving no one behind.

Ø Under his leadership, the Pakistan Women’s Blind Cricket Team toured Australia from 17 to 27 April 2025 for the first-ever five-match T20 bilateral series played abroad. Despite weather disruptions, both teams showcased exceptional talent and sportsmanship, with the series ending in a 1–1 draw.

Brief Achievements of Pakistan Blind Cricket under his Leadership

]]

^[3] He also serves as the President of the WBCC.^[4]

In August 1996, the first International Conference was held for blind cricket in Delhi, India, in which seven countries participated. The World Blind Cricket Council was formed then with Pakistan as one of its founding members.

In May 2018, the PBCC announced the formation of the national women team for the first time. Around a 100 players were registered for the trials ahead of the team's debut series against Nepal.^[5]

As of 2017, the following 16 clubs are affiliated with PBCC:^[6]

• Official website Pakistan Blind Cricket Council
• PBCC at the ESPNcricinfo
• Pakistan Blind Cricket Council on Facebook