Hubli (Karnataka), Dec 21 (IANS) The final 10 group stage matches of the 8th Nagesh Trophy Men’s National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind will commence at the Railway Cricket Stadium in Hubli, Karnataka, on Monday. Group C, consisting of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh, will be played from Monday till December 25, and the group winners will qualify directly for the Super 8 stage.

Nagesh Trophy is India’s premier national-level T20 cricket tournament for visually impaired (blind) men’s teams. It brings together state and union territory teams from across the country to compete in a structured T20 format under the auspices of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), with support from organisations like the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled.

The opening ceremony for the league stage was held at Karnataka Gujarat Bhavana at Hubli in the presence of Jagadish Shettar, Member of Parliament, Belagavi Constituency and Former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Abbayya Prasad, MLA, Hubli-Dharwad-East constituency, Dr. G.K. Mahantesh, Chairman, CABI and Founder & Managing Trustee, Samarthanam Trust, and Udaya Kumar, Trustee, Samarthanam Trust.

Welcoming the participating teams to Hubli, Jagadish Shettar, MP, extended his best wishes to all the players for the tournament. He said that the entire country has now become aware of cricket for the blind following the historic victory of the Indian women’s team, and expressed hope that this success would further increase awareness and support among the general public.

He also thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi for honouring the women’s team and for showing strong support towards the growth of cricket for the blind. The dignitary later joined all the participating teams for a group photograph.

Abbayya Prasad, MLA, congratulated CABI and Samarthanam Trust for their remarkable achievements in creating awareness and empowering persons with visual impairments to dream big and pursue their goals with confidence. Highlighting the larger impact of sports, he said that while sports teach individuals to accept defeat on the field, they also prepare them to win the bigger battles of life. Describing sports as a powerful tool for the empowerment of persons with disabilities, he applauded the consistent efforts of CABI and Samarthanam Trust in enabling inclusion, confidence, and excellence through sports.

The eighth edition of the tournament had 29 teams in the fray, which were placed in six groups with a total of 56 league matches. The winners of Groups A, B, C, and D qualified directly for the Super 8 stage. The next two places in the Super 8 stage will be decided on Net Run Rate. The winners of Groups E and F will play against the 7th and 8th-placed teams from all the teams of Groups A to D in the eliminators, and the winners of those two matches will complete the Super 8 stage.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, DR. G.K. Mahantesh, Chairman, CABI, said, “CABI and Samarthanam Trust always wanted to build a world-class team when it was formed, and the men’s cricket team has achieved our dreams over the years. The Nagesh Trophy was the cornerstone in building such a team that has brought a lot of success to our country. Organising the different league stage matches in various cities provides us the opportunity to create awareness and find support for cricket for the Blind, and also find talented players for the national team.”

The Nagesh Trophy is named in honour of the late S. P. Nagesh, founder president of CABI and a champion for blind cricket development in India. The first edition of the tournament was held in 2018–19, and has continued annually with increasing participation and competitiveness. Teams from multiple states and union territories compete each year in round-robin league matches followed by knockouts and finals. Andhra Pradesh are the defending champion of the tournament, winning the title by beating Delhi in the finals last year.

–IANS

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