My Story

The Untold Story of Mohammad Mohasin

This is the story of a promising, inspirational and indomitable person with a disability from Bangladesh. Yes, I am talking about the man named Mohammad Mohasin. He was born at 6th October 1987 in a village named Morkun East Para under Gazipur district in a poor family. He is the first son of his parents were quite happy with him till he attacked by polio at the age of six months. Due to the wrong treatment of polio disease, he has lost his sensitivity of legs and certainly becomes a person with a

disability at the beginning of his life. Due to social stigma about disability, his life became so complicated that he has to stop his education and confined in the house. His wish of going to the field and play with the boys of his age was a universal appeal. Social discrimination failed to tame his spirit so he started to go to the field by rolling his feet with very difficult for playing with the children as boys of his age did not want to take him in their games.

Mohasin’s love affair with cricket started at the age of 12 when he started playing with his classmates. The sight of a teenager in a wheelchair batting with gusto seemed a fascinating sight for local people in his village and they would especially come to watch him bat. As he grew older, he finished school and set up a telecom shop to support his family. But Mohasin could not get cricket out of his mind as it gave him a social value and a sense of identity. To keep his memory alive, he started posting his

Cricket playing pictures on Facebook from his telecom shop computer. One day an interested person from India named Mr. Haroonur Rashid started asking him about disability cricket in Bangladesh. Since Mohasin does not understand Hindi, he started seeking help from a friend named Polash about communication issues and reply to Mr. Haroon that he is interested to play cricket and make a team in Bangladesh.

This allowed him to be engaged with cricket again so he started seeking people with disabilities and willing to play cricket on Facebook. With very difficult, he finally managed to find some player with the help of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP) and some well-wisher of him. He invited Mr. Haroon to bring his team in Bangladesh and play first physically challenged India vs Bangladesh T20 Cricket series where Bangladesh lost the series.

After the event, time passes by but his life remained unchanged and becoming confined that boring schedule of 'shop to home' where his thirst for cricket was killing him. So he decided to establish a Cricket team and started professional cricket of physically challenged people though he is the only wheelchair user disabled person in the team. Thus, he formed the first-ever disabled cricket team of the country named BANGLADESH CRICKET ASSOCIATION FOR THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED (BCAPC).

After that, he went to join the Taj Mahal Trophy Championship Tournament at Agra, India in 2014 by selling his telecom shop which was his only source of income in his life. The most challenging decision he took in his life did not make him disappointed as his team performed well and they won the series. Winning Taj Mahal Trophy was the turning point of his life as it brings glory for the country and they got a reception from Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was the most inspiring event of his life.

Suddenly a rule was implemented internationally in physically challenged cricket that for the sake of speed of the game wheelchair user disabled were excluded in the physically challenged cricket team and his hope of playing professional cricket became darkened. So, he became frustrated for playing cricket day by day and started to consult with his old friend Polash.

Soon they realized that there is a marginalized invisible group lives in the society but in reality, they are extant named wheelchair user disabled persons.

Then he thought himself - “Why not starts a wheelchair cricket team?” Ever since the idea struck, Mohasin and Polash have left no stone unturned to make it work, especially since wheelchair cricket players were excluded from physically challenged cricket teams. The journey was paved with problems as most of the organizations he Approached refused to support. But the cricket-crazy Mohasin stuck to his guns and eventually got support from Harunur Rashid again. Along with his friend, they

navigated several roadblocks that crop up when sports and disability are involved – from financial support to mindset problems. Consequently, Mohasin Managed to establish Wheelchair Cricket Welfare Association Bangladesh (WCWAB) in 2016 with the help of Imago Sports Management Ltd. Along with Polash and Noor Nahian (one of his playmates) by organizing a national tournament in Dhaka.

Next year, Wheelchair Cricket Welfare Association Bangladesh achieved prestigious JOY BANGLA YOUTH AWARD 2017 of its outstanding contribution for society and innovative initiative - out of 1300 participants throughout the country.

Mohammad Mohasin

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