Jammu and Kashmir cricketers turn heroes despite just narrowly escaping death

Flood victims make their way past submerged houses in Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir cricketers were lucky to survive heavy floods as the state suffers from nature’s fury.

Explaining his experience to the Times of India, Parvez Rasool, the first player from his state to represent the Indian cricket team informed that his family was forced out of their home in the search for a dwelling house. The cricketer rued the fact that they were not even able to convey their situation to the outside world for the last few days owing to the lack of connectivity in their locality.

"First we were stuck on the second floor of our house for days together with little food and water. Once the water-level went beyond the first floor, we were forced to leave our house altogether and shifted to our uncle's place which is located on a higher level. Both my cars were submerged in water — I managed to rescue my favourite bat from the car though," Rasool who resides at Bijbehara, a small town in Anantnag district, was quoted as saying.

"There is no connectivity here. This is the first conversation I am having with anyone on my mobile since the last ten days and I had to walk 10 km to make this call," he further stated.

Cricketers rescue public

Rasool’s state teammate Ian Dev Singh Chauhan, who was part of the cricket team Mirza Gladiators, was staying at a hotel in Srinagar for the Down Town Champions League (DCL) tournament when the conditions in the area turned life-threatening.

Explaining the difficulties from Jammu, Chauhan said: "The water level rose till the second floor, even as we hung onto our dear lives on the third floor. For the first two days, there was no help around”.

The demanding situation saw the hero in him stand up when he and two other team members swam through flood waters to get a rescue boat. They saved people stuck together in the flooded hotel along with the team.

“Since I and a couple of my teammates knew how to swim, we swam for around 20m to a Shikara boat and brought it to rescue people at the hotel and our teammates,” he said.

The cricketers escaped death only when the rescue chopper arrived last Friday to save them from the extreme conditions.

“We went were then stranded on a hilltop for five days. We didn't have any food or water, and it was cold. Luckily, we were picked up and wore as many clothes as we could from the hotel. Of course, we had to leave our cricket kits behind! We spent sleepless nights there. Finally, on Friday, we were taken in a chopper to the airport, where an Indian Air Force plane took us to Jammu," Chauhan recalled.

Cricket stadium affected by flood waters

While the cricketers are fighting it out to gain some support for their sport, their only cricket stadium is now under waters.

"The Sher-e-Kashmir stadium — cricket's lifeline in the state, is submerged in water presently. There is only one ground in Jammu on which we can train but even that is below par when you talk about preparing for the Ranji Trophy," said a heartbroken Chauhan.

He has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to lend a helping hand to a team that has made it to the Ranji Elite League for two consecutive seasons now. His skipper went a step further and called for each and every citizen of the country to show their support.

"I want not just the BCCI, but every Indian to help us in this hour of crisis," Rasool mentioned.