New Delhi, May 22 : The Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) announced the commencement of the 4th T-10 National Cricket Championship for Deaf, organised explicitly for women. The tournament will begin from May 22 to May 25, at the Samprasiddhi Sports Estadio, Thanisandra, Bengaluru. The tournament was inaugurated with an auspicious lamp lighting ceremony by the Chief Guest & Brand Ambassador of this tournament, J K Mahendra, former Indian Cricketer, in the presence of Guest of Honours, Shamila M General Manager & KMP of Can Fin Homes Limited, Neeti Sharma, President & Co-Founder of Team Lease Edtech Ltd, Nandita Lakshmanan, Founder & Chairperson, The PRactice & Jaswinder Narang, CEO, Villoo Poonawalla Foundation. Speaking about the Deaf Cricket Championship, Sumit Jain, President, IDCA asserted, "We are delighted to be here in Bengaluru with 180 players from East, West, North, South and Central zone teams who are pitted against each other. With this tournament, we honour deaf women cricketers for their outstanding talent and resilience, who continue to inspire us with their passion for the game. IDCA remains committed to promoting inclusivity and showcasing the talent of these extraordinary athletes. I wish all the team's good luck and look forward to a thrilling competition. So thankful to all our support partners for their belief in our endeavours to promote deaf cricketing talent nationally & globally. Watch the match live on the IDCA YouTube channel". J K Mahendra commented, "My compliments to IDCA for creating a worthy platform for hearing impaired players across the country. Benguluru is fortunate to play host to 180 amazing women players who are from 10 states across India. It is so heartening to see these hearing-impaired women's squad play mainstream cricket." Elated with the all- women Championship, Roma Balwani, CEO, IDCA said, "Our endeavour & aim is to promote our social movement for disability sport, 'Cricket for a Cause'. We are extremely happy to host this here at Bengaluru, as this is the first event happening here for IDCA. She added, " We are grateful to Can Fin Homes Ltd for the support extended as Patron, and to Nykaa Foundation, Villoo Poonawalla Foundation & NTPC Ltd. for supporting this special all women tournament. Padukone-Dravid Centre of Excellence for celebrating & felicitating the finalist teams." /IANS