BENGALURU: While players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are raking in crores at one go, a celebrated cricketer who was part of the first World Cup-winning Indian team is yet to see the Karnataka government’s promise made in 1983 become reality — 36 years since that promise was made.
Syed Kirmani, who was India’s wicket-keeper during that victorious campaign and who famously partnered skipper Kapil Dev in the match against Zimbabwe to resurrect the Indian team’s chances from a meagre 17 for 5 to win the match in the 1983 World Cup in UK, revealed this when The New Indian Express asked two blind cricket players — Prakash Jayaramaiah and Sunil Ramesh — from Karnataka who were part of the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup, about the state government’s assurance on giving them jobs.
Kirmani recounted his personal experience of being let down by the state government on a promise of granting sites to him and then fast-medium pacer Roger Binny (who was the leading wicket-taker in the 1983 World Cup).When asked whether he followed it up at all, Kirmani said, “I followed it up for a few days, doing the rounds of Vidhana Soudha. As days passed, I lost hope and stopped following it up.
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While Roger Binny was the highest wicket-taker with a tally of 18 wickets in the 1983 World Cup, Kirmani was adjudged the best wicket-keeper of that tournament.