2 Odisha players in India squad for blind Cricket World Cup

Bhubaneswar: Md. Jafar Iqbal and Pankaj Bhue from Odisha have been named in the Indian squad for the 5th ODI World Cup Cricket Tournament for the Blind 2018 to be held at Pakistan and Dubai from January 7 to January 21.

Iqbal has been selected under B1 category (complete blind) while Bhue in  B3 category (partial blind up to 6 metres) as per the guidelines stipulated by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) - an affiliate of World Blind Cricket Limited (WBC).

As a part of the selection process of the Indian team for the World Cup, Iqbal & Bhue had to first play the Zonal and National Tournaments conducted in different parts of the country from October 8 to November 3. Thereafter, they played in the 24th National Tournament conducted in Mumbai and became a part of the final 56 players to visit Pune for the Final Selection camp. At last, the Selection Committee selected 17 players including Iqbal and Bhue.

Also Read: Farewell to a dog who was more human than humans

According to sources, the 17 players have to undergo a one-month training camp at Gopalan School Complex, Whitefield in Bangalore from December 6, 2017 to January 4, 2018.

Seven countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa are going participate in the World Cup.