India defeated the defending champions Pakistan, to win the 4th Cricket World Cup for the Blind on Sunday. In reply to Pakistan's 389, India scored 392 with two balls to spare. Photo: AP
Union Minister for Sports (Independent Charge) Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar during the felicitation ceremony of the Indian tea.
nion Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, second from left and Union minister Ananth Kumar (R) welcoming the Indian blind cricket team on their arrival at IGI airport after winning the Blind Cricket World Cup.
India will host the 2016 Blind Cricket T20 World Cup.
South Africa won the inaugural edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup in 1998, but the game has been in decline since then due to a lack of support from most national cricketing authorities, a fact lamented by Indian captain Shekar Naik as well.
Earlier, the players and the team officials were received at the IGI airport by Gehlot, another cabinet minister chemical and fertilizers Ananth Kumar and Sonowal in the morning.
Cabinet minister for social justice and empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot also said that his ministry will also give Rs. 2 lakh to each of the players.
At a felicitation function held in New Delhi on Wednesday, Sonowal handed the cheques to the players. "I congratulate the players for winning the World Cup. We are proud of them. By dint of their hard work and dedication, they have made us proud,"
Each member of the Indian team for the first time was handed a cash reward of Rs. 5 lakh by sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
The Indian team comprised 17 players and three officials. The President of Blind Cricket South Africa, Francois Neethling, described the tournament as a great success, adding that players learnt a lot from each other as they brought in new
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar took to his Twitter handle to congratulated the team. He tweeted that their potential, "should inspire the potential world beaters in the country".
Except for their initial match against Pakistan, India won all games in the league, in which other participating countries were Sri Lanka, Australia, Bangladesh and England and hosts South Africa.
India defeated the defending champions Pakistan, to win the 4th Cricket World Cup for the Blind on Sunday. In reply to Pakistan's 389, India scored 392 with two balls to spare. Photo: AP