Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy is a blind Indian cricketer, motivational speaker and government bank employee. He has played in many tournaments and won many Blind Cricket World Cups and Blind T20 World Cups as captain of the Indian Blind Cricket Team. After winning the Arjuna Award in 2023, he became popular.
Wiki/Biography
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy was born on Sunday, June 3, 1990 (age 33; as of 2024) in Machera, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India . His zodiac sign is Gemini. When he was four years old, he suffered an accident and the latch went into his left eye. He underwent surgery; however, as the infection spread, he lost all vision in his left eye and vision in his right eye. When he was twelve, he began to have reading problems, after which his parents, on the advice of his teachers, enrolled him in 2002 at the Lutheran High School for the Blind in Narasaraopeta. He first learned about blind cricket while studying at a school for the blind. Although he wanted to be a soldier, he gave up his dream of serving in the Indian Army due to his physical disability. Later, he heard that Pakistan had defeated India in the Blind World Cup, which angered him and he decided to become a cricketer and serve for India takes revenge. Failed and later became a professional cricketer. From 2008 to 2011, he studied Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sports and Exercise at Government Junior College Alia, Hyderabad, affiliated with Osmania University. He also holds a BA in Telugu Literature from Nizam College, Hyderabad.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′10″
Weight (approximately): 70kg
Hair color: black
family
He belongs to Telugu family.
Parents and siblings
His parents are both farmers. There is not much information about the siblings.
Parents of Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy
wife and children
He is married and has a daughter and a son.
Iruri Ajay Kumar Reddy with wife and daughter
Profession
cricket
Domestic
His friend G Nageshwar Rao encouraged him to pursue a career in cricket. In 2006, Rao brought Ajay Reddy to Hyderabad where Ajay was selected for the Blind Andhra Pradesh national team.
international
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy was first selected in the Indian blind ODI cricket team in 2010 and made his debut in the series against England. He made his T20 debut in 2012 and became the vice-captain of the team during the 2012 Blind T20 World Cup and helped captain Shekhar Naik win the match against Pakistan in the final.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (wears glasses) early cricket career
He then helped India win the 2014 Blind Cricket World Cup. He became the captain of the Indian team in 2016 and led the Indian team to win the first Blind T20 Asia Cup in 2016. He was the player who took the most wickets in the 2017 Blind T20 World Cup, where India won by 9 wickets.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy and Narendra Modi after winning T20 Blind World Cup 2017
Later, he captained the team to become the champions of the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup (40+). Under his leadership, India completed a hat-trick of T20 World Cups and won the 2022 Blind T20 World Cup.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy after winning Blind T20 World Cup 2022
He led the team to win a silver medal in the men’s T20 event at the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) 2023 World Games in Edgbaston, Birmingham. He has won over 80 Man of the Match awards and over 50 Man of the Series awards. On January 9, 2024, he was awarded the Arjuna Award by the then President of India, Drupadi Murmu.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy holds the trophy
government bank employees
After graduation, Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy became a clerk at State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), which merged with State Bank of India (SBI) in 2017. In May 2020, he was promoted to deputy manager.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy speaks at banking conference
Awards, honors
- Sakshi Excellence Awards 2017 Special Jury Recognition Award in Men’s Sports Category
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (far right) receives the Special Jury Recognition Award
- Honored in the Andhra Pradesh Government All India Civil Service Championship in 2018
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy honored at All India Civil Service Championship
- Cricket Association of India (CABI) awards Cricketer of the Year in B2 category for 2018-19
- Arjuna Awards 2023
January 9, 2024: Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy receives the Arjuna Award from President Droupadi Murmu of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi award
tattoo
Ajay has a heartbeat tattoo with a cricket image on his forearm.
Iruri Ajay Kumar Reddy’s Tattoo
salary/income
In an interview in 2023, he revealed that he earned Rs 3,000 per game while playing for India.
Facts/Trivia
- His batting style is right-handed and his bowling style is right-arm fast. He primarily plays as a top-order batsman and wicketkeeper. His favorite shot is the sweep shot.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy was the wicketkeeper during the match
- As of January 2024, Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy belongs to the B2 (clear vision to 6 meters) category; however, he revealed in an interview that he is also slowly losing vision in his right eye and if he cannot find a good doctor, he may Had to move to B1 (almost blind) category.
- He said in an interview that blind (visually impaired) cricketers have played for India and won several World Cups; however, people treat them with sympathy instead of giving them any recognition. He also said that blind cricketers should also get appropriate financial support.
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (right) poses with the trophy during a photo shoot
- When Ajay was a child, his parents set up an idli-dosa stall to make ends meet while Ajay stayed in a hotel. He thought his parents had abandoned him, so he returned home to help his parents. He used to wash dishes and serve tea and pancakes to customers. He had occasional problems due to his poor eyesight, during which he was verbally abused by some customers.
- He is a member of a non-governmental organization for persons with disabilities called Samarthanam Disability Trust, which provided him with financial support during his upbringing.
- Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy often delivers motivational speeches at various schools and colleges and tries to inspire people with disabilities to pursue great goals in life.
Iruri Ajay Kumar Reddy in motivational speech
- He considers his parents as his support system. Ajay said his father also had vision problems and his income was not high; however, he always catered to his every need and provided him with cricket equipment.
- In 2006, when he went to Hyderabad for state team selection, he lied to his parents that he was going to study at a friend’s house because he was worried that his parents might not allow him. He also thanked his college principal during the interview for attending Ajay’s event when he was busy playing cricket matches.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education