Mysuru:  The Mysuru leg of the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy National T20 tournament for the Blind, jointly organised by Karnataka Cricket Association for the Blind (KCAB), Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) and Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled began today morning at JSS-KSCA Grounds at SJCE campus.

The three-day T20 Cricket Tournament was inaugurated this morning by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Mysuru Zone Convener S. Sudhakar Rai. 

Former Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities K.V. Rajanna, KSCA Mysuru Zone Chairman R.K. Harikrishna, Managing Director of Bharat International Travels (BIT) Mahendra Salian, President of Rotary Club of Mysore West Rtn. Reginald Wesley, former Convener of KSCA Mysuru Zone S. Balachandra and President of CABI G.K. Mahantesh were present.

Speaking on the occasion, Mahantesh, who is also the Founder-Chairman of Samarthanam said, “In our younger days, we used to play cricket, but the audible ball which we are using now was not available at that time. Now, the ball which is larger than a traditional cricket ball is filled with ball bearings for audible cues to the players.”

Five matches will be played over three days from today in the tournament named after former President of CABI S.P. Nagesh and sponsored by IndusInd Bank.

Four teams — Delhi, Haryana, Goa and hosts Karnataka from Group A —  figure in the Mysuru leg. Karnataka has already defeated defending champions Odisha and Uttar Pradesh on the 9th and 10th of November at the RDSO ground and Northern Railway Ground, Lucknow, in their first leg. 

The 14-member Karnataka squad is led by Sunil Ramesh. After a successful inaugural edition of IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy last year, Season-2 began in the North Eastern city of Agartala. 

The second edition is being held across India in 11 venues — Agartala, Lucknow, Pune, Bhopal, Kochi, Ludhiana, Mysuru, Ajmer, Faridabad, Chennai and Puducherry.  In all, twenty-four teams, comprising 336 players, will clash against each other in the battle to be the best.

After the league matches, the teams will be divided into two divisions (Elite and Plate) and four groups respectively of six teams each. The winning team will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh while the runners-up will be awarded Rs.75,000 and the two losing semi-finalists will be awarded Rs.40,000 each.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Mahantesh said, “Each team will have four players from B1 category (completely blind), three from B2 (partially blind) and four from B3 (partially sighted). The winners of the two semi-finals that follow the quarter-finals will play each other in the final to decide the winner of the second edition of the Nagesh Trophy. Till now, three teams have qualified for the quarter-finals.”

Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) is looking to groom younger players based on their performance in the Nagesh Trophy. India is currently the defending champions in both the One Day International and T20 International World Cup along with being the Asia Cup champions. 

Karnataka Squad: Basappa Waddagolu, Basavaraj M. Hullenavar, K.N. Maruthi, T. Nagaraj, A. Manjunatha (all B1); Lokesh, K. Bhaskar, C.A. Umesh, A.S. Abhi, Shambulinga (all B2); Sunil Ramesh, Prakash Jayaramaiah, S. Harish, K.S. Punitha (all B3). Coach: B. Javare Gowda; Manager: H.N. Nethraraj.