Jammu & Kashmir team has eye on the ball, mind on the Valley

Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) CEO Syed Ashqiue Bukhari put out advertisements on local TV channels, urging players to assemble in Jammu for the preparatory camp.

Some moved to Jammu to keep practising. Some used police stations to communicate. Some walked kilometres to use landlines, once they were up, to know the status.

Former cricketes and coach Irfan Pathan spends time with J&K domestic cricket team.(PTI)

Those were some of the ways Kashmir cricketers worked out to stay abreast of preparations going on for the upcoming domestic season, thrown into disarray due to security restrictions imposed in the state after the abolishment of Article 370 on August 5.

For those who were still unable to get in touch, Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) CEO Syed Ashqiue Bukhari put out advertisements on local TV channels, urging players to assemble in Jammu for the preparatory camp.

The unusual method was used after officials could not reach the players during Vizzy Trophy due to the communication shutdown. Though there were difficulties, the plan worked as more than 100 players reached Jammu after seeing the adverts or coming to know through friends and relatives.

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“It was a task for players coming from districts. For those from Srinagar, it was easy (to reach Jammu). For someone coming from Kupwara, Anantnag and Baramulla it wasn’t easy. Eventually, within four days, all players arrived in Jammu,” says former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, the J&K team mentor.

SWITCH TO VADODARA

With so many players arriving, including those from age-group teams, it was decided to shift the senior team camp to Vadodara as it was not feasible to host all the teams simultaneously in Jammu as it has just one ground. Irfan Pathan is from Vadodara and played for the Baroda team.

Before the lockdown, JKCA had organised a four-week high intensity camp in Srinagar, which had 186 players from the senior and junior squads. The camp was overseen by former India team trainer, Sudarshan.

The seniors were then divided into eight teams to select the probables for the season, but with government issuing an advisory for outsiders to leave and the army presence increasing, it was decided to shut the camp.

Irfan recalls that it was total chaos. “Nobody knew what was happening. When the Amarnath Yatra was called off, we decided to shut the camp and sent back the players. The places which I used to visit from my hotel everyday would take 10 minutes, but those two-three days, it used to take me an hour-and-a-half as everyone was on the road. There were long queues at petrol pumps, and at grocery stores with everyone in a rush to fill their homes with food,” said Irfan.

ANXIETY IN CAMP

Milap Mewada, the J&K coach since last season, said local players had assessed the situation and were worried.

“Couple of days before (the camp ended) a set of guys approached me and said ‘something is happening. The situation is not good and our parents are telling us to return as soon as possible. They are worried for our security’. Being an outsider, I didn’t have the awareness of what was happening. So, when we were briefed about the entire situation, the players were sent back soon. Me and Irfan stayed back till all the players had left,” said Mewada, the former Baroda wicketkeeper-batsman.

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His routine since he returned has been calling spinner Parvez Rasool and J&K cricket officials daily to know about the situation. “I was hoping that by fluke my phone may connect. I wanted to know the well-being of my players.

“It was a relief to get them to Jammu. Once there, it was easier to communicate and fly them to Vadodara.”

For a fortnight, the J&K team will be based in Vadodara. They are out of their comfort zone, some having travelled close to 2,000 kilometres to sweat it out at the Motibaug Stadium here. The season will kick-off with the Vijay Hazare Trophy on September 24.

One could feel the tension among the players, who assembled in Jammu first and started for Vadodara via New Delhi. The players Hindustan Times spoke to about the situation in the Kashmir valley refused to say anything. They weren’t even comfortable talking about the camp.

They are focused on making the most of the camp, which started on Friday. If the weather permits, Pathan and the support staff plan to put the players through a rigorous training regimen to get them ready for the season opener. The team plans to play a few matches as well before heading to Jaipur for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

BONDING SESSIONS

Pathan has also planned some bonding sessions to bring the team together after what has transpired. One-on-one sessions have been planned to help the players clear their mind and focus.

“The boys come from different parts and have different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The key for me is to make them perform as a team without talking about where they come from. They are more relaxed now and are opening up, which is a good thing for the team,” says Pathan.

The surroundings aren’t similar. The weather isn’t as pleasant as in Srinagar. But Pathan says the players are only focused on cricket.

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“It will help them play in different conditions. Eventually, they want to play good cricket. They all want to do well. We have missed out on a month’s practice. That time is not going to come back, so we need to make sure we try and get as much as possible from this camp. Look at the batsmen, after nets they are doing training, working on their fielding. We’re trying to incorporate as much as we can in the small amount of time,” said Pathan.

Mewada said they are trying to keep the players’ minds diverted. “(Our task is to) divert their mind and focus on better things. The moment they are here, they are all focused on the game and are switched off from all other things. Once they are surrounded by their teammates, they will be perfectly fine. It may take one or two days extra, but they will be fine.”

He added: “A bit of that (situation back home) will be on the back of the mind. That is human nature. You can’t control that. You don’t roam around with a magic wand to instantly change their thinking. Thoughts will keep running all the time. The good thing is, when they are here (on the ground) they are focused on training and motivated.”