DSI felicitates the National Visually Handicapped Cricket team

Following the excellent achievement at the World T20 Championship for the visually handicapped recently concluded in India, DSI held a felicitation lunch for the team as a gesture of appreciation. DSI’s sports shoe brand AVI was the official footwear sponsor of the team.

Out of the nine matches played at the tournament, the highlight was the win against New Zealand after 19 years. Sri Lanka scored 334 runs without the loss of a wicket. The Man of the Series was Suranga Sampath who scored 733 runs in total, which included the historical record of five centuries. As a team, Sri Lanka scored nine centuries, resulting in being ranked third in the world.

Thanking DSI for the sponsorship, the Manager of the team and President of Sri Lanka Visually Handicapped Cricket Association Chaminda Pushpakumara stated: “We are sincerely grateful for the contribution that DSI has made to us. As a team, we have faced many challenges even before departing for the series. We have players who have served the forces and lost their vision due to the war, but they still want to serve the country in any possible way. We are thankful to the Sports Ministry and Sri Lanka Cricket for sponsoring our air tickets and providing a pitch for us to practice.”

“We have come this far mainly because of the dedication of our players. We hope DSI will continue to support us. We have played for the country for many years but this is the first time an organisation has made an effort to appreciate us. We are happy that we have not been forgotten, even after the tournament is over,” he added further.

Speaking on behalf of D. Samson & Sons Ltd., Chairman Nandadasa Rajapaksa stated: “We are honoured to have been part of this great team who have achieved much. DSI is a truly local company which has come far from its beginning. The factory was first established in 1962 in the south of Sri Lanka. We had to face much competition throughout the years. Even facing competition from multi-national companies, we have come this far to be one of Sri Lanka’s premier brands. We understand the importance of dedication, hard work and perseverance, which is exactly what this team has.”