Srinagar in focus as J&K aims to set the tone against Rest of India

Rest of India vice-captain Sarfaraz Khan at a training session.
| Photo Credit:
IMRAN NISSAR

Wherever one’s gaze turns in Srinagar, there are attractions aplenty. Not for nothing does the moniker of ‘Paradise on Earth’ adorn Kashmir. There is the serene Dal Lake, where shikara rides run from dawn to dusk. There is the dense covering of chinar trees, whose leaves will morph into a canvas of crimson before carpeting the turf at the culmination of autumn. For connoisseurs of food and drink, the multi-course wazwan meal and the piping hot kahwa tea are must-haves.

Seldom, though, has cricket figured prominently in conversations here. Sure, two ODIs were held in the 1980s at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium — the first between India and West Indies in 1983 left a bitter taste as an unruly crowd dug up the pitch — but India’s northernmost region was always on the margins of the country’s cricketing map.

Not anymore. Undeniable proof comes this week as the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, nestled in the foothills of the Zabarwan mountain range, hosts arguably its biggest cricketing contest since the 1980s. From Thursday, Jammu & Kashmir will take on the Rishabh Pant-led Rest of India in the Irani Cup here. The recognition is by virtue of J&K holding aloft the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 2025-26.

The interest for the fixture was palpable on Wednesday afternoon. As both teams wrapped up their practice sessions, a queue of fans, comprising youngsters largely, patiently lined up outside one of the side gates in the hunt for passes.

When the action begins, there are players on both sides with plenty to gain. For J&K, the curiosity revolves around how it responds to the tag of defending champion. In the Rest of India camp, there is a nice blend of proven performers like Pant and Sarfaraz Khan and young talents like Manav Suthar and Shikhar Mohan. If the contest can be as arresting as the sights of Srinagar, the city’s long wait for a high-profile contest would have been worth it.

The teams (from): Jammu & Kashmir: Paras Dogra (Capt.), Shubham Khajuria, Qamran Iqbal, Yawer Hassan, Shubham Pundir, Abdul Samad, Kawalpreet Singh, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wk), Abid Mushtaq, Sahil Lotra, Vanshaj Sharma, Sunil Kumar, Umar Nazir, Lone Nasir Muzaffar, Rohit Sharma

Rest of India: Rishabh Pant (Capt. & wk), Sanat Sangwan, Sudip Gharami, Sarfaraz Khan, Ayush Doseja, R. Smaran, Shikhar Mohan, Aryan Juyal (wk), Anukul Roy, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Mukesh Choudhary, Aryan Pandey.