ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) will be awarding central contracts in three categories to 17 players in August.

Talking to APP on Monday, PBCC chairman Syed Sultan Shah said the contracts would be awarded for a term of six months, from July 2017 to December 2017.

Speaking about the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup which is going to be staged in Pakistan and Sharjah, Sultan said the last date for the confirmation of teams for the mega event was Sept 15.

“Until now five teams have confirmed their participation in the World Cup. Those teams include Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal,” Sultan said.

He added that South Africa and West Indies were yet to confirm their participation but hoped they would do so in a few days.

Responding to a question, he said a total of Rs50 million was required to host the Blind Cricket World Cup. “We are very grateful to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for approving our request of Rs20 million grant for [staging] the World Cup.

“Now we have also requested the Punjab government and our sponsors for their support in this regard,” the PBCC chief said.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017