Asif Malik
Srinagar, Oct 02 (KNS) : A Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) official on Friday described the ongoing Irani Cup here as the first tournament of its kind since 1983-86, saying it features Ranji and international-level players, including India’s Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Abdul Samad and Parvez Doga.
"This is the first tournament of that level after 1983 and 1986. There are Ranji players of national and international level. There is Rishabh Pant of the Indian team, Sarfaraz, Abdul Samad and Parvez Doga. Many talented players are playing here. This is very historic for Kashmir and Jammu,” Salman Nizami told Kashmir News Service (KNS).
He said the situation in Kashmir has improved and spectators are turning up in large numbers to witness the matches, while stressing the need for better cricket infrastructure in the region. “The situation in Kashmir has improved. As you can see, many spectators are coming here to witness the tournament. I think there is a need to improve the infrastructure here,” he said.
If the infrastructure was better here, I think that in the coming time — as BCCI President Mithun Manhas said yesterday that we will improve the infrastructure here in a few months — even today, the infrastructure has improved in such a short period of time. I think this is very good, Nizami said.
Stating that cricket is the favourite sport of Jammu and Kashmir, he said players from the region are now featuring in Team India and the IPL. “If we look at J&K’s favourite sport, it is cricket. The cricketers here are playing in Team India and IPL. You saw Auqib Nabi, Rasikh, Samad in IPL. Many players here are playing at the national and international level. I think this will be a boost for the young generation, the young cricketers who want to go ahead. J&K will work very hard for that,” he said.
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He asserted that there is no discrimination or favouritism in selection and that performance would be the sole criterion. “There is no discrimination or favouritism here. There will be selection based on performance. We want better infrastructure in the coming time. IPL will be played in J&K. International-level matches will also be played,” Nizami said.
He said the focus is on promoting local cricket in far-flung areas and ensuring selections through the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA). “The concept here is to focus on local cricket in far-flung areas. But here, the way we prioritize, there should be selection through JKCA at the local level. I was listening to Manhas yesterday. He said that he will try to push the local-level cricketers, be it Kupwara, Baramulla, Ramban, Doda or Rajouri. We want them to be inducted and selected in JKCA,” he said.
I think JKCA is the only platform for the cricketers to go ahead. They can play Ranji, IPL or Team India, because the players who are in Team India, Ranji and IPL have reached there through JKCA. I think the cricketers should focus on local cricket, but they should take coaching from JKCA. We will try to put camps at the district and zonal level, he added.
The JKCA official said efforts would be made to tap talent at the grassroots level. We will try to push the talent of the youth cricketers. We want to reach the ground level where there is talent but no access. They have a lot of problems to reach Srinagar or Jammu HQ. We will improve this. I think this is a big opportunity for Jammu and Kashmir. We are lucky to have Mithun Manhas from Jammu and Kashmir. Mithun’s initiative is a big one. We won Ranji with his leadership, he said.
I hope J&K will bowl well tomorrow. I hope you will chase. We will see a revolution in Jammu and Kashmir, Nizami added. (KNS)
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