“Acchhe din” it seems, have begun for blind cricket in India. It’s learnt that in a first of its kind gesture on its part, the Board of Control for Cricket in India will award Rs 1 crore to the Indian cricket team that won the Twenty20 World Cup last month by beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the title clash in Bengaluru.
“It’s a fabulous gesture. It’s not the money that matters, but the recognition. I hope BCCI ensures the money is shared amongst the players, support staff and the CABI,” said Patrick Rajkumar, coach of the team. “It’s a great moment for us. Getting this announcement and commitment from BCCI means a lot. My heartfelt thanks to the new team to have taken this decision. I’d written to BCCI officials persistently requesting financial assistance and recognition. We organised the T20 World Cup in a grand manner, which forced us to spend a lot of money and take loans. The blind community is happy about this move,” said CABI chief GK Mahantesh.
“This money will help us organise our cricket calendar. This gesture from the BCCI will now motivate the other corporates to come out and support us too. We were always asked by others about what BCCI was doing for us.”
“I’m happy . This is a good first step that the BCCI has taken and is thinking about blind cricket.Thank you so much BCCI. Now, we can play continuously , without worrying about money . We’ve been waiting for this sort of recognition for the past several years.Finally a step has been taken by the BCCI to develop blind cricket in India,” stated Ajay Reddy , captain of the team.
