Once upon a time, Srinagar did not need much selling. A month or two before the West Indies arrived in October 1983 for the first-ever international match in Kashmir, anticipation was at its peak.
Tickets were sought after, conversations revolved around the visiting stars and the prospect of watching Kapil Dev’s World Cup-winning India take on Clive Lloyd’s West Indies or Allan Border’s Australia. As Srinagar gets ready to host a major cricket fixture – the Irani Cup on October 1 – much has changed.
On match day, the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium used to be overflowing. “The atmosphere was electrifying. You cannot imagine the atmosphere we had here,” former J&K cricketer and selector Sayyed Parvez Qaiser told HT. “There were chants, hooting, cheering, encouraging one player, discouraging another. It was very electrifying.”
The intimacy of the old ground only amplified it. The boundary and the stands were separated in places by barely two or three metres, leaving the crowd very close to the players. “It was so exciting that I feel even those who didn't play cricket developed an inclination towards the sport after seeing what an atmosphere was created,” Qaiser, who was a college student back then, said.
However, the West Indies ODI took an unexpected turn during the lunch break. Dozens of protestors spilled onto the ground and dug up the pitch, leading to the arrest of 12 men.
{{/usCountry}}However, the West Indies ODI took an unexpected turn during the lunch break. Dozens of protestors spilled onto the ground and dug up the pitch, leading to the arrest of 12 men.
{{/usCountry}}The damage was not enough to bring the match to a halt, and the West Indies eventually won by 28 runs. But the hostility in the stands, the boos and the disruption stayed with the Indian cricketers who were there that day.
India returned to Srinagar for another ODI against Australia three years later which the visitors won. By then, however, militancy and insurgency had deepened and the political situation in the Valley was deteriorating. The Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium hasn't hosted an international match ever since.
A long 40-year-old silence followed. The stadium, once a place where cricket was played almost every day, gradually became a venue where the game was barely seen at all.
“We had only dreamt about seeing Lloyd or Allan Border or Sunil Gavaskar… to watch their class and quality, so close to us was surreal,” Qaiser added.
“We stopped playing when we were at our peak,” he said. “That’s what hurts.”
For many, like former J&K cricketer Samiullah Begh, the Irani Cup is the first major event in their history of their lifetime. “We have seen some big moments as cricketers but for many young and aspiring cricketers, a major fixture returning to Kashmir is a historic moment.”
The irony is that the interest in cricket never truly disappeared in Kashmir even as the turmoil rose in the 1990s and 2000s. Recent years have offered reminders of that. When the Legends League was hosted in Srinagar in 2024, matches at Bakhshi Stadium — not even a conventional cricket ground — drew packed crowds despite ticket prices. Love for the game was never the problem in the Valley.
That appetite is now meeting a very different J&K team. They are no longer merely the plucky side hoping to make a deep run in the Ranji Trophy. They are champions.
The pathway has also begun producing players capable of stepping into the national conversation – Parvez Rasool before them, and more recently, the likes of Auqib Nabi, Umran Malik and Rasikh Salam.
"We used to hear from our elders about the time when the matches were hosted,” said former J&K captain and India all-rounder Parvez. “This is a really big deal that the Irani Cup is taking place here and our team is playing. It's a great moment. J&K wasn't even anywhere on the cricket map, and now we are playing in the Irani Trophy.”
Forty years have passed since the last ‘big match’ was held and even as the Rest of India plays J&K there. The return of high-level cricket has sparked optimism across the Valley, locals are clicking selfies with ROI captain Rishabh Pant but there’s an underlying hope that the experience becomes more feasible for locals.
Hafiz, a cricket enthusiast who remembers the joy that surrounded Kashmir back in the 1980s, noted that fostering a vibrant sports culture is crucial for engaging the local youth, pointing out the drug crisis in the Valley.
“The youth can see how young boys are now getting introduced into international cricket, so many of our kids are making it. There is hope for them too. It’s important that they see the progress in front of their eyes, on the ground."
“If the hurdles to watch these games, especially like it was back in the Downtown area back in the 1980s, are gone now, people will flock to the stands again.”