 "A child born with polio became the star of the Indian cricket team, Brijesh’s journey was not easy")
Brijesh Dwivedi, who contracted polio at the age of just one-and-a-half years, is today India’s most reliable all-rounder for the physically handicapped cricket team. His left leg is weak, he turned this weakness into strength and made his way to Team India. He has now played a dozen matches for Team India. Brajesh Dwivedi has to use his hands to walk but his courage has not weakened.
Today they are standing on their feet due to the hard work of their mother. Along with the desire to play for the country, Brijesh also has a passion for cricket. Brijesh says that his father was a conductor in state transport. There was a time when buying a cricket kit seemed like a dream, but they played with plastic balls. Brijesh practiced by assembling a broken bat and sewing torn pads and gloves.
India-Bangladesh series played in 2017
From 2003 to 2007 he got an opportunity to play for Central Railway. Along with this, he played an innings of 57 runs in the match against Tamil Nadu. When things changed in 2008, Brijesh got a job in a private finance company for around Rs 4,000.
During the Corona, he played the role as the captain of Mumbai Idols in the Premier League in UAE. In 2014, his wife and IIT colleagues cheered him on when he played for the IIT cricket team. Because for some reason they stopped playing, but Brijesh’s wife said that you should keep practicing. From that day he joined cricket again. After seeing Brijesh’s performance in various matches played in Madhya Pradesh, he got an opportunity to play in the India-Bangladesh series in 2017.
The elder brother trained: Brijesh says that “I never gave up, whenever I went on the field people looked at me with pitying eyes. He used to say that despite having polio, he comes to play cricket. I did not pay attention to them. I used to go to the farm with my elder brother and got a lot of technical training from him. People who used to look down on me now respect me. I think people should respond with their actions, then both the thinking and the outlook of the society changes. When I am asked what problem you face in playing cricket, I laugh and reply, I have left every problem behind.
Played the first Test against Nepal
Led the Indian disabled cricket team in 2023 and played their historic first Test against Nepal and represented the country in several international tournaments. His efforts like training more than 250 disabled cricketers in Madhya Pradesh and organizing state level premier league have given a new identity to disabled sports.