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Blind Cricket team: Maharashtra player stuck as government turns a blind eye

The 21-year-old could not travel with the team because both Cricket Association for the Blind in Maharashtra (CABM) and the state government failed to pitch in with funds for him.

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Amol Karche with PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi in December 2014
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As the Indian blind cricket team was preparing to fly to England and Bahrain for a bilateral series on Friday evening, the lone player in the team from Maharashtra, Amol Karche stayed put at home in Baramati.

The 21-year-old could not travel with the team because both Cricket Association for the Blind in Maharashtra (CABM) and the state government failed to pitch in with funds for him.

Karche is a fast bowler and was a part of the Indian team that won the 2014 World Cup for the Blind in South Africa last December.

"It is really demotivating," a dejected Karche said from Baramati. "I am very sad that I'm not going with my team, especially having played so well in the World Cup, picking up two wickets in the final against Pakistan. I can't understand why the state government could not fund me, and I have to sit at home for no fault of mine."

The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) organised the international tour after the various state associations and state governments provided funds for the players from their respective states.

While the likes of Cricket Association for the Blind in Andhra and the Madhya Pradesh state government agreed to provide the money, four states – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Kerala – failed to do so. Thus, four players who were part of the World Cup-winning team from the above states missed out on the tour, and the young Karche was one of them.

The CABI is the cricketing arm of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, an NGO. And unlike other cricket bodies for the blind around the world, CABI is not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) despite repeated pleas. They thus struggle to generate money for overseas tours, and participated in the World Cup only after the sports ministry funded their trip.

This time, they had approached their state associations. While some gave money out of their association's pockets, some asked the respective state government. The CABM did the same, but to no avail.

"We went to the district sports associations in Pune and Mumbai four times, taking all the documents of Karche. But they said they don't have funds for this. I had even spoken to the state sports minister (Vinod Tawde) when he was in Pune last month. We tried a lot, but nothing worked," CABM secretary Ramakant Satam said.

Despite repeated calls and texts to Tawde and Kavita Navande, assistant director of the Directorate of Sports and Youth Services in Pune, there was no response.

Karche, who was born blind, recollected the day he met prime minister Narendra Modi after the team arrived with the World Cup trophy, and how he had got a hero's welcome by his loved ones in Pune.

"But nobody from the state government even gave me a call to congratulate me at that time. The state government has never given me funds for anything," he said.

Despite the lack of support, Karche said he will continue playing the game, for he simply cannot live without it.

"I will continue playing. There will be many more tournaments in the future, and I hope I get to play in those. I want to keep making my country proud," he said.

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