THOOTHUKUDI: A visually-challenged cricketer, S Maharaja of Duraisamypuram near Eppodumvendran, has been shortlisted for the Indian cricket team and is part of a squad of 26 players for the upcoming 4th T20 World Cup Cricket for the Blind, to be held in November in Pakistan.
The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) recently announced its 26-member squad, and the players will undergo rigorous cricket coaching from October 27 in Delhi. The squad includes 10 B1 category players (totally blind), seven B2 players (2 metres sight range) and nine B3 players (up to 6 metres sight). Following the coaching session, a 17-member squad to represent India will be announced.
Maharaja, a left-arm medium pacer and left-hand batsman, has been shortlisted as a B1 category player and is part of the Indian squad for the second consecutive year.
He was selected for the Indian team for the first time at the IBSA World Games, held in Birmingham in August 2023. Maharaja also played a triangular series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai, and a bilateral series against Sri Lanka in India early this year.
Having taken two wickets, the medium pacer has an economy rate of 8. He also recently participated in a special training camp in the USA to promote cricket among the visually challenged.
Speaking to TNIE, Maharaja said that the special camp conducted in the United States has been useful for him. “I am happy to be part of the national team. I was able to show my performance in bowling in the past three tournaments. The union government must recognise CABI's efforts on visually-challenged persons representing cricket,” he said.
CABI's media representative Niranjan told TNIE that the team is waiting for a no-objection certificate from the ministry of sports to participate in the World Cup Cricket for the Blind.
Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) is hosting the T20 World Cup tournament in Pakistan for the first time. The Indian team won the first three T20 World Cups, defeating Pakistan in 2012 and 2017, and Bangladesh in 2022, Niranjan said.