Sports
Jammu and Kashmir’s long road to India cricketing glory
Jammu and Kashmir’s maiden triumph in India’s premier domestic championship last week is more than a sporting milestone – it is one of the most stirring stories in the country’s cricket.
The Ranji Trophy, one of the oldest first-class competitions in the sport, sits at the heart of the game in the world’s most powerful cricketing nation.
To win it is to claim a place in the country’s cricketing mainstream; for Jammu and Kashmir, it marks a breakthrough that was decades in the making.
Cricket in the disputed region dates back to the colonial era, when the Kashmir Willow – prized for its strength and resilience – helped craft bats that powered the sport across India.
For decades, the region was scarred by insurgency, political turmoil and a deep sense of alienation – tensions that culminated in 2019 when Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy and split the state into two new federally-administered territories.
Yet, even through these upheavals, passion for cricket ran deep. Success, however, proved elusive.
That changed over a remarkable fortnight.
In a season overshadowed by the ongoing high-voltage T20 World Cup, where India are defending champions, it was this unfancied northern side that quietly commanded attention.
After defeating seven-time champions Delhi to enter the knockouts, Jammu and Kashmir gathered momentum.
Former champions Madhya Pradesh fell in the quarter-finals. Bengal were subdued in the semi-finals. In the final, stood eight-time winners Karnataka, boasting four current internationals – KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna – and overwhelming experience.
Jammu and Kashmir were the underdogs and most expected them to falter. Instead, they produced cricket of composure, skill and steel, outplaying their decorated opponents to claim India’s premier first-class title.
The breakthrough did not come out of nowhere.
Over the past decade, the team has flirted with history, reaching the quarter-finals three times and missing last year’s semi-final by the slimmest of margins – a one-run first-innings deficit against Kerala.
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association was formed in 1959-60. It has taken nearly 67 years – marked by political upheaval, institutional neglect and chronic underinvestment – for the region to complete the circle and reach the summit of Indian domestic cricket.
For decades, cricket’s real power centres lay elsewhere: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. Proximity to these hubs – of money, infrastructure and influence – often determined how quickly cricket flourished in a state.
Jammu and Kashmir, geographically and politically distant from these nerve centres, remained on the margins – a cricketing outpost far removed from the game’s corridors of power.
A lack of basic infrastructure, scant coaching facilities and self-serving administration stunted cricket’s growth for decades. That Jammu and Kashmir won their first Ranji match only in 1982-83 – more than 20 years after gaining state association status – underlines how halting that progress was.
In 1983, during a match in Srinagar city against Clive Lloyd’s touring West Indies, Indian players were booed and jeered – a spectacle that prompted authorities to sideline the state from hosting major fixtures.
The hostility reflected a deepening political alienation in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir region, where resentment against Delhi over autonomy and governance was already simmering. Though a full-blown insurgency against Indian rule would erupt only in 1989, the faultlines were visible.
In 1986, Allan Border’s Australians played what would prove to be the last international match in Kashmir. Four decades on, top-level cricket has yet to return.
Cricket in Jammu and Kashmir began to turn a corner over the past 15 years as militancy ebbed and political volatility eased. With greater stability came long-missing attention to development and structure.
Three clear inflection points underpin the team’s rise.
The first came between 2011 and 2013, when former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi took charge as coach. He transformed a side burdened by diffidence into one that believed it belonged – urging players long overawed by reputation to compete as equals on the national stage.
Pervez Rasool, the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play for India, was among the chief beneficiaries of Bedi’s confidence-building approach – a debt he has acknowledged in recent years.
The second inflection point came in 2018-19, when the state association brought in former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan as player-cum-mentor. During his two seasons with the side, Pathan said his central message was simple: shed regional faultlines and play as one team.
That phase unearthed notable talent, including batsman Abdul Samad and the explosive fast bowler Umran Malik – only the second cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to represent India.
The third inflection point came about five years ago, when the state association was replaced by an Apex Council to oversee the game. It was headed by Mithun Manhas, a former Delhi stalwart born in Jammu who had also played a season for J&K – blending administrative authority with local roots and top-tier experience.
Manhas, now the head of the Indian cricket board, professionalised the set-up, appointing his former Delhi teammate Ajay Sharma as coach and tightening structures around the team.
Top-tier infrastructure followed, along with modern coaching methods – scientific fitness, nutrition planning and structured mental conditioning – bringing the set-up in line with national standards.
Paras Dogra, a seasoned and prolific domestic batsman, was drafted in as captain to anchor the rebuild. Selectors then cast the net wide, scouting both established and emerging talent.
At 41, Dogra proved a natural leader – delivering his own best while elevating those around him, a journey that culminated in this year’s coveted title.
Several batsmen and bowlers stood out, but the spearhead was fast bowler Aquib Nabi, who finished the season with 60 wickets. He had claimed 44 the previous year, earning an IPL contract with the Delhi Daredevils.
Many observers believe he is ready for the highest level – the national team. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was among those who publicly endorsed him, saying Nabi has the tools to play Test cricket for India.
Whether, and how soon, that leap to the international stage comes remains uncertain.
What is beyond doubt is the significance of Jammu and Kashmir’s surge as a cricketing force – a rise that, in its improbable sweep, recalls Afghanistan’s ascent in the global game.
For India, it matters in at least two profound ways.
First, it underscores how deeply and widely cricket’s footprint now runs across the country – a key reason India stands as the pre-eminent force in the global game.
Second, this triumph offers the beleaguered federally-administered territory and its people something long yearned for: a meaningful stake in the national mainstream through shared pride and sporting excellence.
[BBC]
[Cricbuzz]
The second T20 World Cup semi-final gets underway at the iconic Wankhede Stadium today (Thursday) with England and India locking horns for a place in the final. Both sides are two-time champions and boast well-balanced outfits, setting the stage for a contest where there is little to separate.
India in particular have had to roll up their sleeves and graft their way through the Super Eight stage. Having stumbled in their opener against South Africa, they were forced into two must win encounters inside a week and came through with flying colours. Those victories have hardened their resolve and ensured the defending champions arrive at the business end battle ready.
England, meanwhile, began the tournament on shaky ground. They were given a scare by Nepal and later tasted defeat against West Indies, leaving them with little room for error. But like seasoned campaigners, the Englishmen have steadied the ship and found their rhythm when it matters most.
One of England’s biggest strengths has been their ability to play spin with confidence in recent months. Their bowling attack too has evolved. No longer overly reliant on pace and swing, England have shown the nous to mix things up, calling on a variety of spin options when conditions demand it.
There is, however, one blot on their scorecard. In the last five games, their opener Jos Buttler has struggled for runs, repeatedly departing for single digit scores. But his glovework behind the stumps has been impeccable and with several of England’s batters firing on all cylinders, they can afford to carry one misfiring gun in the line-up.
Still nursing the wounds of a painful Ashes defeat, reaching the World Cup final would go a long way in restoring pride in the England camp and perhaps even saving a few careers that are currently on the line.
India, meanwhile, carry the weight of expectation that only cricket in this country can generate. As defending champions, they have the backing of a cricket mad nation and Wankhede will be a cauldron of noise when the two sides take the field.
For Sri Lankan fans, the venue also stirs bittersweet memories. It was here at Wankhede that Sri Lanka’s dreams were shattered in the 2011 World Cup final, when India lifted the trophy.
One concern for India ahead of the big clash will be their catching. They have been sloppy in the field, grassing several chances and recording a worrying catching percentage. Their overall strength has masked those lapses so far, but dropped catches at this stage of the tournament can come back to haunt even the strongest of sides.
Earlier, South Africa and New Zealand were set to square off in the first semi-final in Calcutta on Wednesday. The winners will head to Ahmedabad where they will await the victors of the Bombay clash for Sunday’s grand finale.
Rex Clementine in Bombay
Opener Hasini Perera’s second T20I fifty, on the back of two wickets apiece by left-arm spinners Sugandika Kumari and Inoka Ranaweera, capped off another strong effort by Sri Lanka as they beat West Indies by nine wickets to seal the three-match T20I series 2-0.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and elected to field in Grenada, and much like in the second T20I, the spinners strangled the West Indies batters. Sugandika was introduced into the attack in the third over and she struck with her third ball, nipping out Hayley Matthews, caught and bowled for 8.
Ranaweera then struck with her second ball, prising out Shawnisha Hector, before Sugandika picked up a third wicket in the powerplay in the form of Eboni Brathwaite. Deandra Dottin struck three fours in her first ten balls as West Indies ended the powerplay on a high but slowed down spectacularly after that, only managing 28 off 39 balls as West Indies added just 34 runs in the ten overs after the end of the powerplay.
Ranaweera finished her frugal four-over spell by trapping Dottin lbw, and four balls later, Kavisha Dilhari cleaned up the other set batter, Stafanie Taylor, for 24.
At 83 for 5 after 18 overs, West Indies were in danger of falling short of 100 but Chinelle Henry gave the innings much-needed impetus, smashing an unbeaten 32 off 15 and helping them take 36 runs off the last two overs. Despite the late onslaught, West Indies finished on a below-par 119 for 5.
In reply, Athapaththu raced away again, crashing four fours in the first three overs with Sri Lanka going at nearly ten an over. Sri Lanka added 48 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket and while Athapaththu fell soon after for a 22-ball 32 to Afy Fletcher, she had set a solid platform.
With the required rate less than six an over, Perera and Imesha Dulani focused more on rotating the strike, putting together an unbroken 72-run stand for the second wicket off 64 balls. Perera took 58 balls to reach her fifty before Dulani finished the match and the series by striking a four off Matthews. Sri Lanka won the game with 14 balls to spare, making it a double success for them, having earlier won the ODIs 2-1.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women
121 for 1 in 17.4 overs (Hasini Perera 52*, Imesha Dulani 34*, Chamari Athapaththu 3; Afy Fletcher 1-14) beat West Indies women 119 for 5 in 20 overs (Stafnie Taylor 24, Deandra Dottin 28, Chinelle Henry 32*; Inoka Ranaweera 2-16, Sugandika Kumari 2-32, Kavisha Dilhari 1-13) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
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