Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy

• Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy is an Indian blind cricketer, government bank employee, and motivational speaker. He has served as the captain of the Indian blind team and led them to become the winners of many Blind Cricket World Cups and Blind T20 World Cups. He was awarded the 2023 Arjuna Award for his contribution to the para cricket.

• A latch of a door went inside his eyes when he was four which left him blind in his left eye and vision loss in his right eye as well. He studied at a regular school till 6th standard; however, when he turned twelve, he started having difficulty in reading from his right eye as well after his teacher advised his parents to shift him to a blind school.

• In 2002, he started studying at Lutheran High School for the Blind, Narasaraopeta where he found out about blind cricket. He later came to know that Pakistan defeated India in a blind World Cup which made him angry.

• Although he wanted to serve in the Indian Army as a soldier, he decided to become a blind cricketer to serve the nation as he was unfit for the Army due to his vision disability.

• In 2006, his friend G Nageshwar Rao took him to Hyderabad to participate in the state-level trials for the Andhra Pradesh blind cricket team where he was selected for the state team. Ajay feared that his parents would not allow him to go to the trials, hence he lied to them that he was going to a friend’s home for studies.

• Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy later started living at a hostel, and his parents opened an idli-dosa stall to earn money for his training. Ajay started to feel that his parents were abandoning him after which he came back and started working at his parent’s stall. He started cleaning dishes and serving tea or food to customers. Due to his lack of proper vision, he was also abused a few times.

• He later became a member of the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, an NGO for the disabled, which provided support to him to become a professional cricketer.

• His debut ODI series was against England in 2010, and in 2012, he was a member of the Indian blind team which won the Blind T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Shekhar Naik. He later played in the 2014 Blind Cricket World Cup under Naik and helped the team to emerge as the tournament winners.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy during his early cricket playing days

• In 2016, Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy became the captain of the blind team and captained them to clinch the inaugural edition of the Blind T20 Asia Cup in the same year. In the 2017 Blind T20 World Cup, he helped India become the tournament winners by taking 9 wickets in the competition.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy with Narendra Modi after winning the 2016 Blind T20 Asia Cup

• Under his leadership, the Indian blind team won the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup (40 over) and achieved a hattrick of T20 World Cups by winning the 2022 Blind T20 World Cup. He led the team to a silver medal win at the 2023 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games 2023 held at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (extreme right) with Anurag Thakur (second from right) after winning the 2022 Blind T20 World Cup

• In his cricket career of more than a decade, he has won more than 80 Man of the Match awards and over 50 Man of the Series Awards. Droupadi Murmu, the 15th President of India, awarded him with the Arjuna Award on 9 January 2024.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy being given an award for his performance

• Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy joined the State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) as a clerk after completing his formal studies. SBH merged with the State Bank of India (SBI) in 2017. He was promoted to the post of Deputy Manager in May 2020. ^[3]Facebook – Ajay Kumar Reddy Illuri
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy speaking at a meeting at his bank

• As of January 2024, Ajay plays in the B2 (clear vision till 6 meters) category; however, he revealed in an interview that he was slowly losing vision in his right eye as well, and he might have to switch to B1 (almost blind) category if he was unable to find a good doctor.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy speaking about his vision

• In an interview, he said that people sympathise with the blind cricketers instead of recognition which should be given to them as they have won several World Cups. He also highlighted that proper economic support should be given to them as most of the blind cricketers struggle economically.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy with Ram Nath Kovind (left) when the blind team won the World Cup

• Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy gives motivational speeches at various schools and colleges and tries to inspire disabled people to do something for the nation and the common public.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy with Shriya Saran (left) during a program

• In an interview, he talked about the struggles of his parents and called them his biggest support system. He said that his father also had a vision problem and did not earn enough money; however, his father and mother always gave him the things he needed to play cricket. He also thanked his college principal who gave him attendance as he could not attend classes due to cricket tournaments.
  

  Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy with his daughter and parents (right to left)