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]
World finalist Ja’Kobe Tharp produced a stunning 12.75 run to break the world 110m hurdles record at the NCAA Championships in Eugene on Wednesday (10).
What made the feat all the more surprising was the fact it came in the heats. The Auburn student powered out of the blocks and executed a flawless run, pulling further ahead of the field after each barrier before charging through the line in 12.75 (1.0m/s), taking 0.05 off the world record set by Aries Merritt in 2012.
Tharp, still just 20 years of age, won the world U20 title in 2024 and then won the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles one year later. He also won at the US Championships last year with a personal best of 13.01 before going on to finish sixth in the World Championships final.
He is undefeated in individual races this year, including heats, and in March he retained his NCAA indoor title with a world-leading 7.32, elevating him to third on the world all-time list. He continued that momentum outdoors with a string of victories on the US collegiate circuit.
The 110m hurdles final at the NCAA Championships takes place on Friday (12).
[World Athletics]
American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus produced a stunning performance to hold off Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the men’s 800m at the Diamond League meeting in Norway.
The 17-year-old crossed the line in a personal best of one minute and 42.08 seconds to edge out the Kenyan by one hundredth of a second in Oslo, despite Wanyonyi recording his fastest time of the season (1:42.09).
Lutkenhaus was unbeaten in his five previous 800m finals this year, having claimed gold at the World Indoor Championships and become the Diamond League’s youngest ever winner on his debut in Stockholm last weekend.
“This boy [Lutkenhaus] is in a good shape,” said the 21-year-old Wanyonyi, who missed the event in Sweden following the birth of his first child.
“Can you believe that as an Olympic champion, you are trying to knock down a 17-year-old boy?
“I started the race in front and after 600m to go, I tried to see who is coming to push me. Then I saw him passing me so then I tried to respond. But my target today was to run my season best, to improve.”
British sprinter Amy Hunt placed second in the women’s 100m in 10.99 seconds, with St Lucia’s Olympic champion Julien Alfred taking victory in a time of 10.76.
Amber Anning was fourth in the women’s 400m as Norway’s Henriette Jaeger enjoyed success, while her fellow Briton, Jake Wightman, finished fifth in the Dream Mile behind Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot.
There was Ethiopian dominance in the women’s 3,000m race, with Freweyni Hailu, Likina Amebaw, Senayet Getachew and Hawi Abera occupying the top four positions.
Hailu recorded the fastest time in the world this year, crossing the line in 8:24.22, while GB pair Megan Keith and Innes Fitzgerald finished seventh and ninth respectively.
In the final event of the evening, home favourite Karsten Warholm’s time of 47.40 was only enough to earn the Swede second place behind Brazilian rival Alison dos Santos (46.89) in the men’s 400m hurdles.
[BBC Sports]
Sri Lanka will open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against hosts England when the 12-nation tournament gets underway in Birmingham on Friday. The event carries a prize purse of USD 8.7 million, underlining the remarkable growth of the women’s game in recent years.
Every participating team is guaranteed a minimum of USD 250,000, even if they fail to win a game during the group stage.
Sri Lanka have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts England, defending champions New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland and West Indies. The top two teams qualify for the semi-finals.
The islanders endured a miserable campaign at the previous Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, losing all four of their group games. More concerning than the defeats themselves were the margins of those losses. Since then, however, the side has made significant progress and, under new Head Coach Jamie Siddons, there is a renewed sense of belief within the camp.
Sri Lanka arrived in Birmingham after comprehensive warm-up victories over Pakistan and the Netherlands in Derby. The team was scheduled to train under lights at Edgbaston on Wednesday evening as preparations entered the final phase.
Having qualified for the tournament by virtue of their international ranking, Sri Lanka will be quietly confident of giving a good account of themselves.
Following the opening game in Birmingham, they will travel to Southampton, Bristol and Manchester for the remainder of the group stage. A trip to London will materialise only if they progress to the knockout rounds.
Since the last World Cup, Sri Lanka have played a considerable amount of bilateral cricket and also underwent an intensive residential camp in Pallekele in the lead-up to the tournament.
Several exciting young players have emerged over the last year, adding fresh energy to the side and raising expectations. The biggest challenge, however, will be adapting to English conditions.
Australia remain the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having lifted the trophy six times. England, West Indies and New Zealand have each won the title once.
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