Indian blind cricket team star who won Man of the Series award in England deprived of much-needed job

The Indian blind cricketers have more than just cricket to worry about

While Indian cricket and its players enjoy a privileged position due to their exploits over the last few decades, the same cannot be said about the country’s blind cricketers. Despite doing the nation proud by winning the Blind Cricket World Cup last year and following it up with victories in the recently concluded one-day and T20 series against England in their backyard, the cricketers continue to struggle to achieve any prominence.

Ketan Patel, who played a crucial role in his team’s historic triumph in England and won the man of the series award, is a classic example of the tribulations that these blind cricketers face. Despite being one of the top performers of the team of late, the 29-year-old all-rounder hasn’t been able to find a job that will relatively secure his future in spite of making several pleas to the Gujarat government.

"Success comes after sincere effort and hard work. Yes, I celebrate our success, but I have to worry about some other aspects," Patel informed in an interview to Mid-Day.

"I was part of the World Cup team and now these two memorable series, but will these performances count for something? Despite several pleas to the Gujarat government, I have not been able to get a much-needed job."

Apart from making a match-winning 64 against England in the first ODI on May 24 and 42 off 32 balls in the next match to help clinch the ODI series, Patel, who falls in the fully blind (B-1) category, also hit a dazzling 102 from just 42 balls in a T20 international on May 31.

Yet, he has had no option but to turn to farming on his family rice field in a village 25 km away from Valsad in Gujarat. With his 60-year-old father, Babubhai, being blind as well, Patel has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as he has to provide for his wife and two daughters who are 11 and 4 years old.

His farming, which lasts for four months from June to September, fetches him just Rs 25,000. Apart from this, his family also sells milk given by their three cows and earn approximately Rs 6000 per month.

"We have three acres of land in Phaladra village - 25 km away from Valsad - on Dharampur Road. We do rice farming only during the monsoons," he said.

"I don't have any hopes for a job now, simply because I have been trying for so many years. I was hopeful of one after our World Cup triumph five months ago, but no one helped me," he added.