“I lost both of my arms twenty-four years ago, when I was eight years old, in an accident at my father’s sawmill.” Amir Hussain Lone, a differently-abled athlete from Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag area, said, “Today, I am the captain of Jammu and Kashmir’s para-cricket squad.”
Lone clearly remembers the day on September 21, 1997, when his mom requested him to carry meals at their family-owned sawmill in an interview with YourStory.
“At the sawmill, my father and older brother worked. They had left the sawmill running while having lunch with the other workers. My jacket became entangled in it, and my arms were severed. A local army unit came to my aid and drove me to the hospital in their car,” Lone recounts, noting that his recovery took around three years. Following the catastrophe, Lone’s father, Bashir Ahmad Lone, was forced to sell the sawmill. While many individuals helped save Lone’s life, which includes physicians and army personnel, the ultimate credit for his survival must go to his late grandmother, Fazi.
Lone was urged by his grandma to return to school full time after a three-year hiatus. “A teacher at the school didn’t want me there because she thought it was pointless for me to be there. But, after the accident, my grandma, who had been my most steadfast supporter, worked everything out with the professor. The teacher had no choice but to give in and let me continue,” he claims. Grandmother Fazi spent the rest of her life, until she died, devoted to Lone. “After she died, I was forced to learn and do things on my own. I shave and do all of my everyday tasks with my feet and chin,” he explains.
Lone has loved cricket since he was a kid, and he has never let his tragedy get in the way of his ambitions. Lone was resolved to put in a lot of effort in order to be able to play. He finished his first year of college at Government Degree College in Bijbehara, Anantnag, where a teacher recognized his cricketing ability and led him to para cricket. The young boy’s steely reserve and practice eventually earned him the position of team captain, as well as a lot of attention throughout the Kashmir valley.
“I started practicing the game with a lot of commitment, and after many tries, I excelled in gripping the bat and throwing the ball,” he says. He bowls with his feet and bats with the bat positioned between his chin and neck. Lone took over as captain of the J&K para cricket team in 2013 but believes there is still a lot more that can be done to promote para-sports in the region. “We don’t have a coach for our para team.” He went on to say, “I coach nearly 100 players myself.” So far, the motivated athlete has represented India in cricket in Delhi, Lucknow, Kerala, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. He’s also got the chance to play in the Dubai Premier League, which is based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Lone, 32, is from the Waghama village of Bijbehara town in South Kashmir, 48 kilometres south of Srinagar, which is known for turning Kashmiri willow logs into cricket bats. All-rounder Parvez Rasool, the first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is also from Bijbehara.
Boys from this region take up cricket at a young age since various factories in Bijbehara and the surrounding areas manufacture cricket bats.
