Trying to restore glory
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In a nation where cricket is religion and Sachin Tendulkar is God, there is a bunch of fans and players who are blindly following the game without seeing the beauty and glamour of the sport.
These are the visually challenged, they give their commitment to the sport by playing their own cricket — blind cricket.
A group is currently trying hard to promote the game and bring back the glory the State once had in blind cricket.
For this, they have founded a trust, Glorious Vision Trust, and are working to group players for the matches.
“Earlier, Kerala had a strong team in blind cricket. Several players have played in the national team and we have won several accolades.
However, as time passed, the tournaments faded and the State team itself became defunct. We are trying to reinvent the lost glory,” says Rajaneesh Henry, one of the trust members and a former Indian Blind Cricket team member.
He, along with his friends Nawaz Nizar and Manu, have formed the foundation. “Our aim is to train enough players. About 20 players are getting training under us. We are giving training at the Tripunithura Ground,” he says. Two of the players, who received training, have featured in the Indian team and are also part of a foreign trip.
“Previously, it was the Kerala Federation of Blind that promoted the team. Eventually, the federation got busy with other welfare activities and the game was forgotten. So we thought about giving it a boost.
For the last three years, we are sending a team to an All-India invitational tournament in Lucknow.
However, the sponsorship is a major problem and not many organisations are aware of the game.
However, we are trying our best,” he said.
At present, the society is trying hard to bring south zone blind cricket tournament to Kerala. The team selection for the Twenty-20 world cup in Bangalore this year end will be held soon. So, we need more exposure for our players,” he says.
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