NEW DELHI, Dec 19:
The World Cup-winning India captain Ajay Kumar Reddy today urged the BCCI to support blind cricket, saying it will go a long way in bringing professionalism and the much-needed financial boost to their game.
The Indian team for the blind recently won the T20 World Cup for the third consecutive time, defeating Bangladesh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
But despite the achievements, 10 players in the 17-member squad are jobless and due to the lack of financial support and many find it “difficult to pursue the sport” as they are “preoccupied” with earning livelihood.
“We have won the World Cup for the third consecutive time but we don’t have a title sponsor,” said Reddy, who scored a century in the final.
“It’s very difficult to play cricket when we know we have the bigger task of earning livelihood so that we can support our families,” said Reddy on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony organised by Union sports minister Anurag Thakur.
In April last year, the BCCI had recognised the Differently-abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI) to promote the sport among physically challenged, deaf, blind and wheelchair participants.
However, not much changed in terms of support for the blind cricketers, according to G Mahantesh, the President of Cricket Association of the Blind in India.
“BCCI has been sympathetic to us all along providing us with infrastructure and training facilities but in order to bring more professionalism we need their financial support as well,” said Mahantesh. (PTI)
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