India's Blind T20 World Cup winning captain Ajay Reddy wants proper recognition for the players

What’s the story?

After winning the 2017 Blind T20 World Cup, Indian skipper Ajay Reddy has urged the central and state governments to consider their achievements over the years and provide jobs to his teammates as a token of appreciation. According to Ajay, 14 of out the 17 members who won the World Cup were struggling for a livelihood due to poor financial conditions.

While speaking to Mid-Day, Ajay said, “I'm proud to win the World Cup for the country in front of 25,000 spectators but at the same time, I feel sad that 14 out of these 17 players are struggling due to poor financial conditions. How many World Cups we need to win? Though we are performing consistently at the international level, our players are finding it difficult to earn a living. None of these 14 players have good jobs and their poor financial condition forces them to do labour work.”

In case you didn’t know...

India beat arch-rivals Pakistan by 9 wickets in the final of the 2017 Blind T20 World Cup at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. They defended their crown that they had earned by beating the same opposition in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2012.

The heart of the matter

Ajay was happy about leading his team to victory in the final of a World Cup in front of 25,000 spectators at the Chinnaswamy stadium. At the same time, he also voiced some concerns over the troubles faced by his teammates.

He went on to urge the central and state governments to take into consideration their consistent performances for the country and provide the others with jobs.

Sportskeeda’s Take

In spite of doing well consistently in the last few years, it is sad to know that most of the players are still unemployed. Winning a World Cup for the country is not an easy thing to do and what these men have done in the past is simply outstanding.

Still, they are ignored by the state and central governments. The government should make sure that the members of the World Cup-winning team are treated properly and rewarded for their efforts.