The Indian blind cricket team returned to India on Monday after defending their ODI World Cup title. They were unbeaten throughout the tournament, beating Pakistan by two wickets in the final in Sharjah on Saturday.
While speaking to The Quint at the New Delhi airport, the captain Ajay Kumar Reddy said that he’s very happy with India’s victory. He expressed that this is not the first time that India has won. India defeated Pakistan to win the 2014 ODI World Cup as well.
Reddy said that the team has proved itself time and time again, but even then the BCCI and the Sports Ministry don’t provide their support. The skipper is hoping that one of the bodies offer affiliation in the coming days.
Star batsman of the tournament Deepak Malik explained how he dealt with the tense situation in the final. After the equation was reduced to 6 runs from 10 balls, India lost two quick wickets. Malik, who was at the crease, struck a boundary at that time. Thereafter, Malik felt that the match was in India’s hands.
Deepak also spoke about his magnificent innings of 179* against Sri Lanka. He helped India chase down a target of 359 runs.
Veteran player Prakash Jayaramiah said that it was great for India to win the tournament without being beaten. Jayaramiah expressed that he had a wish of winning the World Cup in Pakistan, but it was not to be as the Indian team was not given clearance by the Indian government to play the final in Lahore.
The Indian team’s coach Saju Kumar had a different take, when asked about the lack of support from BCCI and the Sports Minstry. He said that the team should do its duty and not expect anything from the two bodies.
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