How this J&K sportsman is acing it in cricket after losing both arms in an accident
Amir Hussain Lone is now the captain of Jammu & Kashmir’s para cricket team, and even took part in the Dubai Premier League held at Sharjah.
“Twenty-four years ago, when I was eight years old, I lost both of my arms during an accident at my father’s sawmill. Today, I am the captain of Jammu & Kashmir’s para-cricket team,” encouraging words from Amir Hussain Lone, a differently-abled sportsperson from Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a conversation with YourStory, Lone vividly recalls that day on September 21, 1997, when his mother asked him to deliver lunch at their family-owned sawmill.
“My father and elder brother were working at the sawmill. They were having lunch with the other workers and had left the sawmill running. My jacket got caught in it, and my arms were chopped off. The local army unit came to my rescue, and shifted me to a hospital in their vehicle,” recalls Lone, adding that it took him about three years to recover. Lone’s father Bashir Ahmad Lone had to sell the sawmill after the accident.
Amir grips the ball with the support of his toes
While many people including doctors and the members of the army played their role in saving Lone's life, the real credit for his survival must go to his late grandmother, Fazi.
After a three-year absence from school, Lone was encouraged by his grandmother to go back to school full time.
“A teacher at the school did not want me there, thinking that it was futile for me. But my grandmother, who was my greatest support after the accident, sorted it out with the teacher. The teacher had to give in, and allowed me to continue,” he says.
Grandmother Fazi dedicated the rest of her life to Lone till she died. “Her death made me learn and do everything on my own. I shave, and manage all my daily chores while using my feet and chin,” he says.
Cricket has been a passion since childhood for Lone, so much so that he never let his misfortune come in the way of his dreams. Lone was determined to work extremely hard to make himself capable of playing.
He completed his first year of undergraduate education at Government Degree College, Bijbehra, Anantnag, where a teacher discovered his cricketing talent and introduced him to para cricket. The young boy’s steely reserve and practice eventually made him team captain, and also garnered him much attention across Kashmir valley.
“With a lot of determination, I started practicing the game, and after many tries, I succeeded in holding the bat and throwing the ball,” he recalls. He bowls using his feet, and bats by placing the bat between his chin and neck.
How Amir does batting and bowling using his chin and his foot
Lone became the captain of the J&K para cricket team in 2013, but does feel much more needs to be done to encourage para sports in the region. “Our para team is not provided with a coach. I teach nearly 100 players myself,” he added.
Asked who his favourite cricketer is, he replies, “I am a great fan of the legendary Tendulkar, and want to play like him for the national team. He is my inspiration,”
The determined sportsman has so far played cricket in Delhi, Lucknow, Kerala, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. He also recently had the opportunity to play at the Dubai Premier League in Sharjah United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Lone, who is 32 now, hails from South Kashmir’s Waghama village of Bijbehara town, 48-kilometers south of Srinagar, which is famous for transforming Kashmiri willow logs into cricket bats.
The first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to have played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), all-rounder Parvez Rasool, is also from Bijbehara.
Since many units in Bijbehara and neighbouring areas are engaged in manufacturing cricket bats, boys from this region take to the sport at a young age.
Edited by Anju Narayanan