PM pitches for cricket in Kashmir
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir stadium on Saturday made a special mention of cricket, and the role it can play to integrate the people of the Valley with the rest of the country. He made a special mention of Parvez Rasool, the face of Jammu and Kashmir cricket.
Modi not only praised Rasool’s achievements on the field, he expressed the desire to see international cricket return to the Shere-Kashmir stadium. The venue saw the 1983 ODI against West Indies end in crowd trouble. The only other ODI played there was in 1986, between India and Australia.
“This boy of Kashmir is earning fame in the field of cricket,” Modi said in his speech, and then added: “For the last 30 years, not a single international match has been played in this stadium.... Why can’t an international cricket match again be played in this stadium?”
Rasool has caught the nation’s attention as a rare talent to emerge in the Jammu and Kashmir team. It was during J&K’s excellent 201213 domestic season that Rasool made an impact. Bishan Singh Bedi, who took over as coach, inculcated confidence in the side.
Rasool was outstanding with the bat, hitting two centuries, but it was Bedi who encouraged him to take his off-spin seriously. Under Bedi’s mentoring, Rasool worked on his bowling, picking 33 wickets to come into national attention.
Picked for a side game against Australia in 2013, he surprised everyone with a seven-wicket haul. Subsequently, he became the first player from the Valley to sign an IPL contract, making him the poster boy of J&K.
He made it to the India A squad against England, and went on the 2013 Zimbabwe tour. He didn’t get to play, but subsequently made his India debut against Bangladesh in 2014.