17-man India squad for the World T20 for the Blind announced

The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) today announced the Indian team for the World T20 for Blind to be played in India in January-February 2017. CABI named a 17-man squad for the tournament where they will walk in as defending champions. According to CABI president, Mahantesh GK the selectors had a tough time finalizing the squad and have named 9 reserve players along with the 17 for the tournament.

The tournament will kick off with defending champions India playing West Indies on January 31 at the Delhi Ground A while the title match will be played on February 12 in Bengaluru. At a time when the team was finding it difficult to manage its financial resources IndusInd Bank has come forward with the ‘World Champions Programme – Cricket for the Blind’.

The initiate is in association with CABI– Sports Initiative of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, with an objective to support the Indian Blind Cricket Team. IndusInd will be provide a helping hand to the 26-player Indian Blind Cricket Team to undergo training and organize camp.

Former Indian cricketer and the coach of the Indian junior teams Rahul Dravid is the ambassador for the tournament and is appealing cricket fans to support the Indian team when they take field in the second World T20. CABI president also said the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) has also shown their willingness to help them for the World Cup.

Indian captain Ajay Kumar Reddy said that the team will begin their preparations for the championship from January 5 with a preparatory camp in Indore and that the team is willing to put in more than 100 per cent to do well in the tournament.

PTI quoted a senior official of the CABI as saying, “We are short of funds and appeal corporates to support the initiative”,

The winners of the World T20 will be rewarded with Rs 2O lakh and the runners-up will earn themselves a cheque worth Rs 15 lakh.

Indian squad for the T20 World Cup for the Blind:

Ajay Kumar Reddy (Captain), Prakasha Jayaramaiah (Vice-Captain), Deepak Malik, Rambir Singh, Sukhram Majhi, T Durga Rao, Sunil R, D Venkateswara Rao, Ganeshbhai Muhundkar, Md Faisal, Md Farhan, Ketanbhai Patel, Md Jafar Iqbal, Sonu Golkar, Anish Beg and Prem Kumar G.