Odisha allrounder Nakul Badanayak has been selected in the 14-member Indian Cricket Team for the Blind for a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, scheduled to be played at Faith Cricket Club in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from 24 to 26 December 2021.

The T20I series will be followed by a three-match ODI series between the two countries at the same venue from December 27 to 29. Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) also announced the 14-member Indian team for the ODI series today.

Sunil Ramesh (Karnataka) and Deepak Malik (Haryana) have been named captain and vice-captain of the Indian team respectively for both the ODI and T20I series. The selection of only one player from Odisha for the T20I series and none for the ODI series has come as a shock for followers of cricket for the blind in Odisha.

In the recent National Cricket Tournaments for the Blind, Pankaj Bhue, Sukhram Majhi, Lingaraj Rautara and Kalia Pradhan put up impressive performance for Odisha. But none among them has been considered for the series against Bangladesh.

INDIAN T20 SQUAD:
B1 category: Kalpesh Nimbadkar (Gujarat), Lalit Meena (Rajasthan), A
Venkateswara Rao (Andhra Pradesh), Om Prakash (MP), Praveen Kumar Sharma (Haryana).
B2 category: D Venkateswara Rao (Andhra Pradesh), A Maneesh (Kerala), Irfan Diwan (Delhi), Nakul Badanayaka (Odisha).
B3 category: Deepak Malik (Haryana), Prakash Jayaramaiah (Karnataka), Sunil Ramesh (Karnataka), Durga Rao (Andhra Pradesh), Vijay Kumar (Himachal Pradesh).

INDIAN ODI SQUAD:
B1 category: Kalpesh Nimbadkar (Gujarat), Lalit Meena (Rajasthan), A Venkateswara Rao (Andhra Pradesh), Sujith Munda (Jharkhand), Basappa (Karnataka).
B2 category: D Venkateswara Rao (Andhra Pradesh), A Maneesh (Kerala), Lokesha (Karnataka), Rohit Sharma (Haryana).
B3 category: Deepak Malik (Haryan), Prakash Jayaramaiah (Karnataka), Sunil Ramesh (Karnataka), Durga Rao (Andhra Pradesh), Vijay Kumar (Himachal Pradesh).
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PHOTO: Undated file picture of Odisha allrounder Nakul Badanayak at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.