India's blind Twenty20 World Cup-winning captain Ajay Reddy urges government to provide jobs for his players after yesterday's triumph over Pakistan. India won by 9 wickets
India players pose with the winners’ trophy after beating Pakistan in the blind T20 World Cup final at Bangalore yesterday. Pic/AFP
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India skipper Ajay Reddy was left with mixed feelings after his team won the blind T20 World Cup crown in Bangalore where they beat arch-rivals Pakistan by nine wickets in the final.
The two teams had clashed in the 2012 edition final as well with India emerging triumphant.
India captain Ajay Reddy
Talking to mid-day over the phone from Bangalore, skipper Reddy said: "I'm proud to win the World Cup for the country in front of 25,000 spectators (at the M Chinnaswamy Stadiun) but at the same time, I feel sad that 14 out of these 17 players are struggling due to poor financial conditions."
Indian Blind Cricket team celebrates after winning 2nd World T20 Blind Cricket. Pic/PTI
Reddy urged the government to help out the players with jobs. "How many World Cups we need to win?" Reddy asked. "Though we are performing consistently at the international level, our players are finding it difficult to earn a living. None of these 14 players have good jobs and their poor financial condition forces them to do labour work. Only three — Sonu Golkar, Jaffer Iqbal and myself have decent jobs while the rest of the boys are struggling. I urge the central and state governments to take into consideration our consistent performances for the country and provide jobs to these boys," Reddy added.
Pakistan players wear a dejected look after their final defeat. Pic/AFP
Earlier, while chasing a target of 198, vice-captain Prakash Jayaramaiah top-scored with an unbeaten 99, while Reddy (43) and Ketan Patel (24) made vital contributions to help India seal victory in 17.4 overs.
Also Read: India lift 2nd successive Blind World Cup, beat Pakistan
Pakistan, after electing to bat, scored 197-9 in 20 overs. Opener Badar Munir's scored a half century for Pakistan, while Ketan Patel and Jaffer took two wickets each for India.
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