BCCI extends travel support to 17-member blind cricket squad

New Delhi: Durga Rao Tompaki will lead a 17-member visually challenged Indian cricket team that was given a send-off here on Thursday ahead of the Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in Dhaka from November 15 to 20.

The BCCI has extended its support to the team by sponsoring round-trip air tickets from New Delhi to Dhaka.

“We believe that cricket should provide opportunities for everyone to participate and excel,” BCCI honorary secretary Devajit Saikia said, wishing the team success.

The squad includes players from Gujarat, Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka.

India will open their campaign against Sri Lanka on November 15 before taking on Pakistan on November 17. They will face hosts Bangladesh on November 19. The final is scheduled for November 20.

India, who won the title a decade ago, will be looking to reclaim the trophy.

The send-off event was organised by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), in association with Samarthanam Trust and its corporate partner CBRE.

CBRE, through its CSR initiative Ek Pehal, has supported the team’s preparations, including player selection, professional coaching, nutrition, fitness, physiotherapy, travel arrangements and the provision of cricket equipment.

The squad: Durga Rao Tompaki (captain), Sunil Ramesh (vice-captain), Naresh Tumda, Sanjay Kumar Shah, Debaraj Behera, Ashok Reddy, Praveen Kumar Sharma, Mukesh Kumar Rawat, Dunna Venkateshwararao, Rambir Singh, Lokesha, Manish Kumar, Nakula Badanayak, Sukhram Majhi, A Ravi (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Rathva and Deepak.