India’s blind women cricketers still wait for house sites and jobs a year after their World Cup win

Andhra Pradesh Minister for MSME Kondapalli Srinivas hands over a ₹50,000 cheque from Hindustan Shipyard Limited to cricketer Pangi Karuna Kumari at the felicitation of the Indian women’s blind cricket team at Mangalampalem on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Deepika T.C. captained India to victory in the first Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind in November 2025. Nearly a year later, she is still waiting for the house site that leaders and officials promised her.She and her 15 teammates, who won the tournament hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka, say they are unable to get the support they need from society and the government in their day-to-day lives. They do not get playgrounds and fitness guidance in their localities, and they cannot afford training in big cities. Leaders who make tall promises in public have shown little interest in ensuring government jobs and house sites for them, they said.Ms. Deepika hails from Madakasira in Sri Sathya Sai district. “Due to our partial vision issues, we cannot move around government offices to follow up on house site issues. The government has to do its own and instill confidence among us,” she told The Hindu.Ms. Deepika, who developed vision problems as an infant, completed a degree course and focused on cricket in spite of her family’s financial struggles. Her parents, Timmappa and Chittemma, encouraged her to practise cricket in Bengaluru although they had many fears about her partial vision. She has been consistently playing well and won special recognition when she scored 92 runs off 45 balls against Australia in a World Cup match.Another player, Pangi Karuna Kumari of Paderu in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, hoped that the government would provide her a job so that she could take care of her family.Players such as Simu Das (Assam), Sushma Patel and Durga Yevle (Madhya Pradesh), Jamuna Rani (Odisha), Anikha Devi (Jammu and Kashmir) and Kavya N.R. (Karnataka) are waiting for consistent support from the government. The players are aged between 16 and 28 and most come from poor rural homes, the team’s manager told The Hindu during the World Cup. The Cricket Association for the Blind in India selects players from villages across the country and trains them but needs funds for coaching, fitness, food and travel.Support from shipyardThe team manager and coach, Shikha Shetty, thanked Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral Chandrasekharan Raghuram and Director (Finance) E. Kiran for providing ₹50,000 to each player under the shipyard’s corporate social responsibility programme, at an event organised by the Sri Gurudeva Charitable Trust at Mangalampalem in Vizianagaram district on Sunday (October 4, 2026). Hindustan Shipyard Limited Director (Finance) E. Kiran holds the Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind with members of the Indian team at Mangalampalem in Vizianagaram district on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Ms. Shetty said such support would lift the morale of the players before their next series against Nepal in New Delhi in December 2026. The trust’s founder Raparthi Jagadish Babu requested Minister for MSME Kondapalli Srinivas to ensure dedicated support for the State’s players. Published - October 06, 2026 01:58 pm IST