Blind World Cup to go ahead without India if they don't come on time: Pakistan board

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is yet to give the clearance to India for the upcoming Blind World Cup, slated to begin on November 22. The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) has received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports but unless the MEA gives the green signal, they won’t be able to participate.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) has announced that the tournament will proceed as planned and they will go ahead if India fail to arrive on time. Chairman Syed Sultan Shah clarified that Pakistan had issued visas for the Indian team, but the Indian government has asked its players not to travel.

“All other teams are coming to Pakistan for the World Cup. If one team doesn’t show up, it won’t affect our preparations,” said Sultan as quoted by India Today.

CABI general secretary Sailendra Yadav also commented on the matter, stating that they are awaiting for clearance from the Government of India for more than two weeks. He reminded that Pakistan didn’t travel to India when the tournament was last played.

“It's been 15 days now that we are waiting for clearance, and we just need yes or no from the government. Last time we visited Pakistan was in 2014 for a bilateral series. In 2018, the government denied the clearance to visit Pakistan and in 2023, the Pakistan team skipped the tournament when it was held in India,” Yadav said.

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Earlier in the year, 26 cricketers underwent 12 days of selection process in Gurugram. Based on the trials, 17 players were selected for the Blind World Cup.

India's squad for Blind World Cup:

In the B1 Category (Totally Blind), the team features Ajay Kumar Reddy Illuri (Andhra Pradesh), Debaraj Behera (Odisha), Nareshbhai Balubhai Tumda (Gujarat), Nilesh Yadav (Delhi), Sanjay Kumar Shah (Delhi), and Praveen Kumar Sharma (Haryana).

The B2 Category (Partially Blind - Vision upto 2 Meters) players are Venkateswara Rao Dunna (Andhra Pradesh), Pankaj Bhue (Odisha), Lokesha (Karnataka), Rambir Singh (Delhi), and Irfan Diwan (Delhi).

In the B3 Category (Partially Sighted - Vision upto 6 Meters), the team includes Durga Rao Tompaki (Andhra Pradesh), Sunil Ramesh (Karnataka), Sukhram Majhi (Odisha), Ravi Amiti (Andhra Pradesh), Dineshbhai Chamaydabhai Rathva (Gujarat), and Dhinagar Gopu (Pondicherry).