India squad for T20 World Cup for the Blind announced

Bengaluru: Organisers of the third T20 World Cup for the Blind on Friday announced a 17-member India squad, and Yuvraj Singh as brand ambassador of the championship.

The World Cup would be held in India from December 6 to 17. The other participating countries are: Nepal, Bangladesh, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

I Ajay Kumar Reddy would lead the Indian team, while Venkateswara Rao Dunna (both from Andhra Pradesh) was named vice-captain.

The opening match will be played between defending champions India and Nepal at Faridabad on December 6.

Former India batter Yuvraj Singh said he was thrilled to become the brand ambassador, and urged everyone to support the initiative.

”I commend and appreciate the spirit of visually impaired cricketers for their passion for cricket and determination to fight everyday challenges,” he said.

The World Cup is an initiative of the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, which has been organising this championship since 2012.

Samarthanam’s sports wing, Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) is affiliated with World Blind Cricket Ltd (WBC).

Founder Managing Trustee of Samarthanam and CABI President Mahantesh G K told a press conference here the selection committee has chosen a 17-member Indian squad.

Chairman of CABI Selection Committee and CABI General Secretary E John David said the World Cup will see a total of 24 matches played across several cities of India, including Bengaluru, Kochi, Indore and Cuttack.

India had won the World Cup on two previous occasions held in 2012 and 2017.

India squad: Category of players (B1 – totally blind; B2 – partially blind – 2 to 3 metres of vision; B3 – partially sighted – 3 to 6 metres of vision) — Lalit Meena-B1 (Rajasthan), Praveen Kumar Sharma-B1 (Haryana), Sujeet Munda-B1 (Jharkhand), Nilesh Yadav-B1 (Delhi), Sonu Golkar-B1 (Madhya Pradesh), Sovendu Mahata-B1 (West Bengal), I Ajay Kumar Reddy-B2 (Andhra Pradesh), Venkateswara Rao Dunna-B2 (Andhra Pradesh), Nakula Badanayak-B2 (Odisha), Irfan Diwan-B2 (Delhi), Lokesha-B2 (Karnataka), Tompaki Durga Rao-B3 (Andhra Pradesh), Sunil Ramesh-B3 (Karnataka), A Ravi-B3 (Andhra Pradesh), Prakash Jayaramaiah-B3 (Karnataka), Deepak Malik-B3 (Haryana) and Dhinagar G-B3 (Puducherry).