The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) chairman Dr GK Mahantesh believes the BCCI’s commitment towards supporting blind cricket will not only ease the struggles of the players, but will also lift the level of their game.
In a statement released on Friday, CABI said that “BCCI has committed support to the men’s and women’s national teams, focussing on providing international travel and accommodation for two overseas tournaments annually, accommodation for home and visiting teams in bilateral series in India and access to BCCI-supported stadiums and grounds for domestic and international fixtures.”
When the Deepika TC-led Indian blind team won the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka last November, the CABI chairman had told mid-day about the team’s struggles to find sponsors. On Friday, he heaved a sigh of relief. “This was long-awaited and has finally happened. We are thankful to BCCI and to [ICC chief] Jay Shah for valuing the journey of our cricketers. BCCI’s support will reduce the struggle on our shoulders and also of our players. We can now focus more on the game’s development and our teams will also add value by performing better,” Mahantesh told mid-day.
