Indian blind cricket team to tour England, Bahrain

Mumbai, May 22: The Indian blind cricket team is all set to leave for England to play three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three Twenty20s, Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced here on Friday.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has invited Indian blind cricket team to play matches in England from May 24th to 31st. The team will also be in Bahrain to play some matches from June 1 to 4.

The team has been practicing in Valsad, Gujarat since May 18th and skipper Shekar Naik is confident of his team’s preparations for the English tour.

"The team is well prepared and is in good form. Recent experiences of playing zonal tournaments and earlier World Cup win make me confident of a win in the bi-lateral series too. We have a good coach who has been working hard with us and the boys are very determined," Naik said.

The team will arrive in England on May 22. They will play the first ODI in Leamington Cricket Club on May 24. The second ODI will be played on May 25 at the Wolverhampton Cricket Club.

The third and last ODI will take place on May 29 in Arundel.

CABI, which is affiliated to Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and World Blind Cricket (WBC), is all set to host the next T20 World Cup in 2016 that will be organised in multi cities across India.

Speaking on team’s tour, Mahantesh G. Kivadasannavar, the general Secretary of CABI, said, "The proposed tour is very important as the champions are playing first international tournament after the World Cup victory. 

"This will be a good preparation for the forthcoming 2nd T20 World Cup for the blind in 2016."