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Madhu quits his job to play for India in the blind ODI in SA
Entry into the Indian Blind Cricket team has not been easy for G Madhu. He had to resign from his job as the employers were not ready to give him 40 days leave.
Entry into the Indian Blind Cricket team has not been easy for G Madhu. He had to resign from his job as the employers were not ready to give him 40 days leave. He shares his story on his struggle to make it to the 4th ODI World Cup for the blind in Cape Town, South Africa, from November 25 to December 9
- He applied for leave which was rejected by his company
- He is all excited to travel abroad for the first time
Helen Keller, the American author and activist, once said that the only thing worse than being blind was having a sight but no vision. She said these words eons ago but they ring true even today. Take the case of G Madhu, the 23-year-old whose happiness of getting to know about his inclusion in the Indian team was cut short as his employer Idea Cellular refused to grant him leave for 40 days leading him to resign from his job.
That India is a cricket crazy nation and that cricket is a religion in India is only confined to men’s cricket. For a blind cricketer, the road ahead is tough as is exemplified in the case of Madhu.
“Entry into the Indian team has come as a surprise as I was not expecting it so soon,” he said. The consistent performances in local tournaments, the Samanvayya Challengers Cup and the useful knocks at the selection trials in Tirupati caught the eyes of the selectors.
Madhu started playing cricket in 2008. The middle-order batsman rose to limelight in Lucknow last February, when he scored 72 runs in 49 balls which earned him the man of the match award. Madhu is the student of Government High School for Blind, DarulShifa. He credits PV Kiran Kumar, founder, I&Eye, an NGO, for financial and moral support in his career.
He says, "All the expenses for equipment, travel and education are borne by Kiran Sir. It would have not been possible without his support."
How does it feel to go to South Africa we ask.
“I am looking forward to the trip. I never imagined that I would be travelling to another country," he said enthusiastically.
Financially, Madhu's family is poor. His mother works in a hostel and his sister works in an orphanage in Saroornagar. He is the sole bread winner in the family. He used to work in Idea call centre but now had to put in his papers.
PV Ravi Kiran says, "The Telangana government should come forward and provide financial help to blind sportsmen as they are no less than others. As a matter of fact, they have to struggle more than others to make it big in sports."
Talks between the Cricket Association for the Blind (CABI) and the BCCI have been going on but there have been no progress so far.
"I do not know if I will get a decent job when I come back. But now I am focussed to do well for the country," says Madhu.
