In J&K this Year, It’s a Toss Between Independence Day & Cricket

J&K Cricket Association’s only standard playing field at SKICS has been taken over by police for I-Day celebrations.

(Photo: Shruti Mathur / The Quint)

For the first time in the history of sports in conflict-ridden Jammu and Kashmir, almost all of the trial and selection schedules of the national level events of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have been suspended.

Why? Because the J&K Cricket Association’s only standard playing field at Sher-e-Kashmir International Cricket Stadium (SKICS) (in Srinagar) has been taken over by police and security forces for the upcoming Independence Day parade on 15 August.

Here’s the Lowdown

None of the JKCA functionaries agreed to say anything on record, even as all of them confirmed that the organisation wrapped up all the practice and selection schedules on the twin play fields at SKICS, on Tuesday.

“We have been directed by the state government to pack up for a fortnight from 1 August as the stadium along with both its play fields would remain under the control and surveillance of Police and security forces ahead of the Independence Day parade,” one of the senior JKCA officials said. Retired Police officer, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, who has been appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer of JKCA by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, was unavailable for comment.

The JKCA insiders, however, revealed that Bukhari agitated the matter with senior government functionaries and explained to them that the suspension of the trials would hugely impact the state’s participation and performance in the national level events of the BCCI, including Ranji Trophy. “Our CEO (Bukhari) met with the Governor’s advisor, BB Vyas, Centre’s interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, Director General of Police SP Vaid, Divisional Commissioner Baseer Ahmad Khan, and others. They all assured him that a different venue would be arranged for the Independence Day parade. But nothing happened, till we were asked to clear out on Tuesday,” a middle ranking JKCA official said.

Another official asserted that the stadium in the high security zone had been fully occupied by police and security forces.

This, despite a direction from the Supreme Court that none of the autonomous BCCI-sponsored playing fields in the country should be disturbed for any reason by the government. He revealed that some activists and parents of at least two under-19 players had threatened to approach the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, or Supreme Court against the decision of the Governor’s administration to occupy the JKCA stadium.

No Alternative Venue for I-Day Parade, Claim Police

Altaf Ahmad, father of one of the under-16 players, complained that even on Monday, the J&K police deployment stopped his entry to the stadium. “They said that they had been asked not to permit anybody accompanying the players into the stadium. My son’s plans have been completed shattered, as the events he was preparing for are scheduled to begin at the national level from 3 October. I’m told that the BCCI has further preponed its schedule,” said Ahmad whose family had come all the way from Delhi to encourage their son Abrahim to represent his home state at the national level events. “We’ve been camping here since June. There’s total uncertainty ahead,” Ahmad complained.

JKCA, the J&K constituent of BCCI, is the independent owner and operator of of SKICS Sonwar, Srinagar. All of its activities and operations are fully sponsored by BCCI.

Interim President of BCCI, Vinod Rai, denied having any information about the SKICS having been taken over by police and security forces.

“I have no such information. You should speak to JKCA and the government there,” Mr Rai told The Quint over telephone.

Additional Director General of Police, Law & Order and Security Munir Khan, confirmed that this year’s Independence Day ceremony, at which Governor NN Vohra would take the salute, would be held at SKICS Sonwar.

“This is because of a compulsion as our traditional venue for the parade, Bakhshi Memorial Stadium, is currently under massive renovation. Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council had started this renovation project last year. Even on Republic Day (26 January) we held the parade on ground ‘B’ of SKICS. But this is going to be a bigger event with larger participation, as the government operates from Srinagar during the summer. So the decision of holding the I-Day function was taken at the highest level. But it was out of compulsion, as we had no alternative venue available in town,” Munir Khan asserted. He said that other proposed venues were either insufficient in capacity or not safe from a security perspective.

Plenty of Other Venues for I-Day Parade

The JKCA insiders, nevertheless insisted that the I-Day ceremonial parade, in which huge crowds haven’t participated since 1990, could be smoothly held at any of the spacious grounds at Amar Singh College, Sri Pratap College, Tourist Reception Centre, Polo View Sports Ground, or even Ground ‘B’ of SKICS.

With coaches and promoters like Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel camping in Srinagar, JKCA for the first time this year, has involved nearly 50,000 students and cricket enthusiasts in the district level series of tournaments.

“Five national level teams are already here. Eight more teams from UP, Punjab, Jharkhand, Kerala, Haryana, Vidharba, Gujarat and Delhi are arriving on 4 August. Now everything is going awry,” said a JKCA insider.

Practices, trials and the selection process for the men’s Ranji Trophy (starting on 1 November 2018) and men’s Duleep Trophy (multi day), that’s scheduled to start on 17 August, are getting disrupted by the suspension of the sports activities at SKICS. Other national level events that are taking a bad hit are the men’s Vijay Hazare Trophy, Prof Deodhar Trophy, Irani Trophy, Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, starting on 13 August, senior women’s I-Day League besides Col CK Naidu Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vinoo Mankad Trophy, Cooch Behra Trophy and Vijay Merchant Trophy of men’s under-23, under-19 and under-16.

Never in the last 35 years of its life has Ground ‘A’ of SKICS been used for any other purpose. On the other hand, Ground ‘B’ of the stadium has been the venue of major political rallies such as that of the National Conference leader Omar Abdullah (22 June 2002), Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (18 April 2003), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (6 April 2005) and PM Narendra Modi with the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (7 November 2015). People’s Conference Chairman Sajjad Lone too held a rally at this venue over a decade ago.

Significantly in his speech in November 2015, Modi promised the return of international cricket at SKICS.

For the first time, the Republic Day event at this stadium (Ground ‘B’) was held on 26 January 2018.

The stadium was occupied by paramilitary forces from 1990 to 2007. First class cricket resumed here in 2009.

Ground ‘A’ of SKICS was the venue of international cricket, when India and West Indies played a One Day International (ODI) cricket match here on 13 October 1983. It was disrupted by rain and a dust storm, coupled with the first ever pro-Pakistan demonstration at an Indian stadium. A section of the crowds damaged the wickets, shouted slogans, waved the Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan’s posters at Indian Captain Sunil Gavaskar, and hurled apples at other Indian players.

J&K’s Trysts With Cricket

As India scored 176 runs in 41.2 overs, West Indies won the first ODI of the 5-match series (followed by entire ODI series besides the 6-match test series) while making 108 for no loss in 22.4 overs. Desmond Haynes with 55 off 88 balls was declared Man of the Match. Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshal, Roger Harper, Gordon Greenidge (West Indies) Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Krishnamachari Srikant, Kirti Azad and Vengsarkar were among the stars who played in Srinagar.

The second, and till date, the last international cricket match at SKICS was the ODI between India and Australia on 9 September 1986, when India made 222 for 8 wickets, with skipper Gavaskar’s scintillating 52 off 56 balls.

(The writer is a Srinagar-based journalist. He can be reached @ahmedalifayyaz. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)