In a touching gesture, Jay Shah meets Jammu and Kashmir's Ranji Trophy history-makers after their express desire

Jay Shah, in his previous post as BCCI secretary, took a personal interest in the growth of Jammu and Kashmir's cricket.

Published on: Mar 5, 2026, 15:01:28 IST

Written by Prateek Srivastava

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According to many in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), including president Mithun Manhas, Jay Shah has been instrumental to Jammu and Kashmir winning their maiden Ranji Trophy late last month.

Jay Shah was quick to meet the J&K players' express desire. (BCCI (X))

Shah is presently ICC chairman, and before that, he was secretary with the BCCI. During that tenure, Shah showed a personal interest in J&K cricket and kick-started its transformation, and how quickly J&K has responded to his efforts.

Also Read: 'Tested enough, now give him Test cap,' clamour for Auqib Nabi picks up as he guides J&K to historic Ranji Trophy win

After wining the trophy, the J&K players expressed their desire to meet Shah, and now the BCCI has informed through a post on X that Shah has finally met the players and congratulated them on their epic win.

"The historic triumph of Jammu & Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy will remain a proud milestone for cricket in the region.

"After their memorable victory, the players expressed a heartfelt desire to meet Hon. ICC Chair @JayShah and share this special moment with him, acknowledging the role his leadership played in strengthening cricket in Jammu & Kashmir during his tenure as BCCI Secretary.

"We sincerely thank Mr. Shah for taking the time to meet the team and for sharing his words of encouragement with the players as they celebrate this historic achievement.

"Congratulations to the entire J&K team and the cricket fraternity for scripting a remarkable chapter in Indian domestic cricket," the post read.

Manhas was effusive in praise of Shah!

Earlier, Manhas, a former Ranji player with Delhi and J&K, had also thanked Shah for his contribution to the upliftment of J&K cricket. For four years, Manhas, who was born in Jammu, also led a BCCI-appointed sub-committee overseeing J&K's cricket. He also held the role of Director of Cricket Operations at the JKCA (Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association).

"It's been an amazing journey that started five years ago. I want to thank the BCCI for the support, especially Jay Shah. I am a person of process. You need to have your seniors around, with Paras [Dogra] coming in, we got stability, the calmness. With Ajay Sharma Bhai [coach], he has the experience of playing five finals and he brought in immense batting experience from his day. This win is dedicated to all the people back home. All the other teams, they will take a lot of inspiration from this. They can also do what J&K have done," Manhas said after witnessing J&K's historic triumph in person at Hubballi against the local side Karnataka.

J&K dominated the contest all through five days and won on the basis of their massive first-innings lead.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prateek Srivastava
Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age. In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there. After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month. Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser. While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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