‘Don’t need Sachin, PM’s twitter wishes’
NEW DELHI: The World Cup winning Indian cricket team arrived at central park in Connaught Place on Tuesday with their trophy and flags. Grey skies and a drizzle greet them but their enthusiasm is not dampened.
Delhi is receiving rain after a long time. Some people say the arrival of the team has resulted in rain. One of the Indian cricket team members, Mahendra Vaishnav, says when they arrived in the United Arab Emirates, even there they were greeted with rain. After posing under the massive tr i-col our, the team boards the bus. Prakash Jayaramaiah, the team veteran, sings ‘Ae zindagi gale laga le’, a popular song from the 1983 film Sad ma starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi as they soak in the adulation.
Vaishnav, Jayaramaiah are part of the Blind Cricket World Cup winning team. Captained by Ajay Reddy, India defeated Pakistan by two wickets to clinch the title. The win continued their glorious run in Blind Cricket tournaments, having won the 2012,2017 Twenty20 World Cups and the 2014, 2018 World Cup. In all those victories, Pakistan was the common factor. When asked about the key factor behind the dominance, R eddy beam sand says ,“In the final, Pakistan is under pressure having lost consistently to us. Whatever be the situation, even if it comes to laying down our lives, we are determined to win against them.” Sunil Ramesh, the 19-year-old batsman, was the Man of the Match in the final for his brilliant 93. On the mention of Pakistan, he gets extra energy. “I was extra motivated. I am glad India gave me a chance to bat in the final .” Despite the success, the team struggles for recognition. The BCCI have ignored them, while the government’s support is token. There are no facilities, not even a practice ground. Red dy, with a mixture of disappointment an danger, says, “In Pakistan, the blind team gets support from the PCB. There isa budget for them. When they won the World Cup in 2002, they got official recognition. They are getting regular salaries, government jobs and special rewards while playing. They have won only two World Cups, we have won five yet we don’t have stability.” Even the congratulation messages also do not serve any purpose. “Sachin (Tendulkar) sir and PM Narendra Modi are tweeting congratulations, but no one comes out and offers support. We don’t need tweets,” Reddy said. Amid the gloom, the Indian skipper dedicates this win to the Indian soldiers and signs off with the words, “We will never give up playing cricket.” This sums up the determination of a World Cup winning team.