A cricketer with no arms, who can bowl, bat and is captain of his side

Amir Hussain Lone is a 26-years old young man from Jammu and Kashmir. He plays cricket and is an all-rounder who is an avid fan of Sachin Tendulkar and wants to play for the national team. So what's the difference from any aspiring young cricketer? Amir is a double-arm-amputee.

Amir holds the bat between his left shoulder and head. His favourite shot is a flick off his legs towards square leg. While bowling he uses his right foot to grip the ball and delivers leg-break deliveries. He captains Jammu and Kashmir para-cricket team.  

Amir hails from Wagam village, 42 km from Srinagar, is son of Bashir Ahmad Lone, who runs a bat-manufacturing unit in Bijbehara town of South Kashmir's Anantnag district. 

In 1997, when he was just a 7 years old kid, studying in Class II, one day went to his father's sawmill to deliver lunch to his brother. While his brother was having lunch, Amir started fiddling with the switches of sawmill, which were used for making bat clefts. His both arms somehow caught in the conveyor belt, got entangled and were severed on the spot.

The local army unit came to his rescue, took him to a hospital in their vehicle. While many people including doctors and army played crucial role in saving Amir's life, the credit for his survival and also success goes to his father, who spent a fortune on the treatment of his son. Irony of the father is that the freaky accident happened at his own bat factory. After coming back to his residence three years later, many people told his parents that he is not worth living and it is better to kill him than struggle a whole life as a double-arm-amputee. His parents were told that if they spend money on him, it will go waste.

Amir, his father Bashir and his family, shows another example that inspite of unparalleled obstacle, sheer grit, determination and dream can pave way for success.  

With inputs from TOI