‘Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hami asto, hamin asto, hamin ast’, which means, “If there is a heaven on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here.”
The quote, by great poet Amir Khusro, has been describing the scenic beauty of Kashmir in novels, documentaries, films and songs for ages. Cut to the present era, when the region’s popularity has gone beyond its saffron, shikaras and pashmina shawls. The fondness for cricket is growing rapidly and not only just Kashmir but the talents are coming out from Jammu as well, portraying the strength of the state in gentleman’s game on India’s map.
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A big credit goes to the Indian Premier League (IPL), which, according to its tagline, has been providing much-needed opportunities to the youngsters from the state. Parvez Rasool was the first player from J & K to bag an IPL contract and then, the floodgates opened. Rasikh Salam, Adul Samad, Umran Malik… the list continues to grow with every season.
Ahead of the 2023 season, the state set a magnificent record where 21 players were shortlisted for the mini-auction and 3 out them were in the IPL franchises radar and struck lucrative deals. How inspiring would this be for the state, explains J&K Cricket association member, Brigadier Anil Gupta in an exclusive interview with News 18 Cricketnext.
Here are the excerpts:
Spectrum to see the J&K cricket needs to be changed
Firstly, I must correct you and also, the entire media. See, the Jammu and Kashmir cricket is being regionalized. As you mentioned five players from the valley, are not from the valley. They all are from Jammu. But to me, that doesn’t make any difference. All 5 are from Jammu & Kashmir. For so long, the J&K cricket has been seen from the prism of the valley. Everybody is talking of ‘valley.’ Actually, cricket is equally popular and we have equally talented players in the Jammu region as well as Kashmir and even Ladakh. You’ll be surprised. We had a talent hunt in Ladakh, we have very good players coming from there also. So, there is no dearth of talent in Jammu and Kashmir cricket. Now, we have another myth which was propagated that generally, Kashmir valley produces very good fast-bowlers and a few numbers of batters from Jammu, even that has been broken with this. All three fast bowlers in the IPL this year are from Jammu. So, what I am trying to say is, please stop seeing the cricket in J&K from the prism of regionalism.
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World-class Support to Umran Malik
As far as Umran Malik is concerned, I must tell you; he is a very talented cricketer with a very balanced mindset. Now, the beauty about that player is, that he practices very hard. We have given him all the facilities. Whenever he comes to Jammu, he trains regularly on our ground. We have given net bowlers to help. The association provides him with Kookaburra balls to practice and that helps him a lot. So, all the facilities which needs are being provided and he’s also been taken care of by the NCA and the Indian Cricket Team.
Selection of Yudhvir, Vivrant and Avinash encourages the youth of J&K
As I mentioned earlier, a record-breaking number of 21 players from Jammu & Kashmir went to the auctions this time. Ultimately five landed up in the auction. Out of which three of them were selected. So, it’s a big boost. There was a time, when none from J&K, then for quite some time there was one, then suddenly two, and now five. So, it has been a big booster. See 21 people getting shortlisted, which means many are interested and many are knocking on the doors of IPL. So, that’s a very encouraging news and I must also tell you, that not only men, but our women also are doing very well and they are also knocking on the doors of IPL when the women IPL is about to start.
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Watching the players closely
I’ve seen Vivrant and Yudhvir closely because they are part of our team and have been there for the last 2-3 years. But Avinash, unfortunately, wasn’t a part of our team. He did come for the talent hunt which we conducted but he injured his back and eventually, backed out. But I’m told that he is a sensational bowler and I wish him to do well. As far as Yudhvir and Vivrant are concerned, Yudhvir has tremendous potential. He is very young and gets a lot of praise from Zaheer Khan. So, in between running through poor form. But, you know, form is temporary and we’ve decided to back and support these players irrespective of their forms. Our team didn’t do well in Syed Mushtaq Ali, perhaps they lost very narrowly. There was a lot of pressure on us and the team. But our selectors stuck to these players as they just needed opportunities.
Getting an opportunity is a difficult thing and when they get one, they’ll grab it with both hands. I’m very happy for them and wish them to perform very well in the IPL circuit.
With bigger price tags, come great responsibilities
I think money plays a big hand but there comes the quality of the player. If a player doesn’t let the money go into his head and focuses on his game, he rises. And if he lets the money enter his head, he loses his path. And these days the competition is so high that if you don’t perform one season, the next season you aren’t considered. So, I’m very sure that these players are professionals and are mature enough. Though the average age of our team is about 20-22, that is because we have inducted so many youngsters this time. We are very hopeful and we are concentrating on mental health conditioning which is an important part of our training.
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