Hyderbad to host T20 WC semi-final for blind on Feb 10

Hyderabad: Hyderabad would play host to a semi-final match of the second T20 World Cup cricket for the blind on February 10, it was announced today.

The tournament would be played from January 28 to February 12, with inaugural fixture in New Delhi and the final in Bengaluru, according to Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, the parent body of Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI).

India, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies would participate in the tournament, to be played on a league-cum-knockout basis in ten cities of India, the Founder Managing Trustee, Mahantesh G K, told reporters here.

In November last year, Rahul Dravid was announced as the Brand Ambassador for this edition of the World Cup.

Vice-Chairman, Planning Board, Government of Telangana, S Niranjan Reddy, declared the State government’s support to the event.

The Trust also expanded its reach to Telangana by opening a branch, which boasts of a Braille and Audio library, here today.

The objective of the project is to ensure easy access to braille books and encourage braille reading and writing amongst the visually impaired students, helping them to develop language proficiency, Mahantesh, also CABI President, said.

“We intend to set up a state of the art learning centre, design and implement many more disabled-friendly programmes in the near future”, he said.