Interview with Adil Reshi: Budding cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir

Adil Reshi (Courtesy: Adil Reshi)

The valley of Jammu and Kashmir is as much renowned for its stunning beauty as it is for being torn by terror. Hence, not many people from across India would associate sports with this region. Thus, when Parvez Rasool got his name selected in the Indian national squad, it came as a happy surprise for a cricket crazy country like India.

However, Parvez is not the only success story coming out of Kashmir. There are several other budding cricketers who are slowly making their mark, with their grit, passion and determination and have the desire to represent their country.

Adil Reshi is one such cricketer. This 24-year-old talented batsman from Lalchowk in Kashmir has the hunger and belief that he would make the people of his state proud one day.

Adil plays as an opener for his state team and aspires to be one of the best in the world. Additionally, he is also a very handy medium-pace bowler.

Though he has played just 10 first-class games until now with a modest average of close to 35, he has impressed many with his batting style including the likes of Arun Lal and Sourav Ganguly, whom he had met on an official tour to Kolkata. Adil also came very close to being selected for the Mumbai Indians team last year when he was selected for their tryouts, but could not make the final cut.

It remains to be seen if Adil makes his name in international cricket in an environment where the sport lacks basic infrastructure for up-and-coming cricketers. Despite the obstacles, Adil’s rise in domestic cricket remains a commendable achievement.

Here in this interview Adil opens up about life for a cricketer in Kashmir, hitting Ishant Sharma out of the stadium and how cricket in the region can be resurrected.

Excerpts from the transcribed interview:

Q. How did you get into cricket?

Adil Reshi: Initially I wasn’t much interested in cricket. I did not even know much about it. It was perhaps a matter of fate that brought me into it.

I think I was about 9-10 years old then, and someone in my family had died. I was very upset and weeping silently in a corner when my elder brother saw me and took me to a playground to cheer me up. Once there, I saw many cricketers playing the game and was immediately hooked to it.

I would from then on go there every day. Though I wasn’t allowed to participate in any matches, I would be the official scorer of the games. As I would do my job, I would observe the players very closely and slowly learnt a lot from them.

My brother, who used to play a lot of cricket, realized I had a natural talent for batting and taught me the technicalities of the game. I worked hard to develop my skills and soon went for the trials of the U13 state selections.

Though, I got rejected, I did not lose hope and kept trying relentlessly. After going through a lot of ups and downs, my hard work finally paid off when I got selected for the Jammu and Kashmir U-15 team in 2003. There has been no looking back ever since.

Q. Who coached you?

AR: No one as such. You can say that I have coached myself. It is the same for all cricketers in Kashmir. We learn by watching great cricket players on television and by taking some tips from senior players from our own state. I have been lucky that people like my brother and a few others have showed me the way, but more or less I have trained myself as a cricketer.

Q. When and how did you manage to get into first-class cricket?

AR: It was the year 2011 and the Ranji Trophy trials were on. Bishan Singh Bedi saab was the coach of our state team that year and he had declared to us all that only the ones who perform will get selected for the state team.

I played in the tryouts and though I did not score much in the initial few games, I came back with a good century in the last game which got me noticed. Hence, my selection was done in the Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy team. It was one of the best days of my life. I was happy that I got selected purely on performance.

Q. Kashmir is always known to be a terror strife region. How difficult it has been for you to come through as a cricketer there?

AR: I am not trying to be unnecessarily pompous, but I consider it as an achievement to have made it as a cricketer here. Our grounds and other basic facilities are not up to the mark. There are no turf wickets. Plus more than half the year, it keeps snowing here which halts our practice.

Whatever time I get, I make the most of it. Another challenge is the parental pressure. As a kid, when I used to venture out for practice, my family would always scold me. “What is this game? What would you ever get from it”, were the regular taunts I had to endure. But I did not give in and kept working hard towards my goal.

Q. Do you think the selection of Parvez Rasool would change the outlook of cricket in Kashmir?

AR: Oh yes, definitely. It already has actually. People, especially kids, would get inspired by seeing Parvez play in the national colours. It is the exact impetus that cricket in Kashmir required. Now all budding cricketers can look at Parvez bhai and think that if we too are dedicated and passionate like him, then one day luck will shine on us too.

There are other players too like Abid Nabi, who is an excellent talent and should be playing for India very soon. There is no dearth of talent in Kashmir. All we need is the right push to keep working hard and excel.

Adil Reshi (Courtsey: Adil Reshi)

Q. Do you ever feel that perhaps you should have been born in a place like Delhi or Mumbai rather than Kashmir which does not provide great facilities for cricketers?

AR: Well yes, sometimes when I look at the things going around in my state, I do feel terribly frustrated. When for weeks and months we have to sometimes stay forcibly enclosed in our house due to the volatile situation in the state.

And when I see the lack of exposure and facilities for cricket here, I sometimes feel that why was I born here. But then again, when I look around Kashmir with my open heart I realize that there can never be another place like this in the world. It truly is a paradise. I am lucky to have been born here and no matter what deficiencies it has I love my Kashmir.

Q. How much interest does the average Kashmiri have for cricket?

AR: Not much I would say. In fact, most youngsters here learn about cricket only after they have reached the age of say 16-18 years. Very few of them develop an interest in the game from an early age and start playing it seriously.

Otherwise cricket isn’t followed religiously here, not even close to the way it is followed everywhere else in the country. The general environment of our state is such that cricket isn’t in most of the people’s mind. Parents look down upon kids who play cricket. That is a reality.

Q. Any particular cricketer that has inspired you or the one that you follow?

AR: Imtiaz Hossain from our very state is one of the cricketers whom I look up to and have been following for quite some time. He is a senior level cricketer from our state and has guided me in my cricket a lot.

Apart from him, I have also followed Sachin Tendulkar since my childhood. I have learnt a lot just by studying his batting. Recently though, I love Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He has made the country proud and has really inspired me a lot. I wish I could get to meet him someday.

Q. What would you say has been your best cricketing moment till date?

AR: Well, I have had many great moments in my short career as a cricketer. I have scored centuries and double centuries in different state level matches. But my best memory is the one where I just scored 32 runs. It was a T20 match in 2011 between our team against Delhi in a stadium in Gurgaon.

Bowlers like Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma were playing for Delhi and the evening before the match, I was told by a colleague that you better buckle up since you are the opener and you will have a hard time facing these bowlers.

I was unfazed and in the match, I hit both Nehra and Ishant for a six each. I pulled both of them of the front foot and the ball landed out of the stadium. That gave me a lot of satisfaction and confidence. I believed that if I can hit these international level bowlers, I can play anyone else in the world.

Q. You have also travelled to Kolkata for a cricketing trip a couple of times. Tell us a bit about your experiences there?

AR: We got the chance to travel to Kolkata in early 2012 because of the Kashmir Premier League (a domestic T20 tournament) which was launched that year and was organized by the Army in association with the state sports department there as part of incorporating peace in the valley and promoting our sportsmen to the national level.

The winners of the trophy were to get a cash prize and a chance to visit Kolkata to play some local teams there. Luckily our team (Srinagar Sherdils) won that year and hence we got a chance to tour Kolkata.

It was an enriching experience. We got to meet senior cricketers like Arun Lal and Sourav Ganguly who gave us some great tips. We also won all the matches we played against the local club sides. That really boosted our confidence.

Plus, we enjoyed travelling in the city. The locals, too, were so warm and affectionate towards us. We loved it so much that most of the players were quite upset on leaving from there. Nevertheless, I will always remember the experience very fondly.

Q. Do you ever feel that cricketers from this part of the country have been given a raw deal? That they have been ignored?

AR: No, these things are said by people who do not play cricket. The fact is that our team hasn’t performed as per the expectations. This year we won a few matches in the Ranji Trophy, but we need to do that on a consistent basis to get ourselves recognized. Yes, we could do with a few more matches as we hardly play good and hard cricket regularly.

But that situation too is improving as now our state will be getting a few more matches to play every season. We have to keep working hard and performing to get ourselves noticed. There is no use complaining.

Q. As a young cricketer, what do you think should be done to improve the condition of cricket in Kashmir?

AR: A lot has to be and can be done by the state administration. We have to first improve the ground facilities here. There are so many grounds, but none with turf wickets. Places like Delhi, Mumbai etc have all got it and hence kids from the age of 8-9 start playing cricket. This is not the scene here. Plus coaching centers with experienced cricketers at the helm would really help a lot. That should be the primary agenda. A lot of work has to be done if we want to see cricketers from Kashmir representing the national jersey regularly.

Q. What are your future plans now? How hopeful are you to get into the national team?

AR: I can’t think of things that are not in my control. I just like to play cricket and enjoy it passionately. I am completely and solely dedicated towards it. Cricket is my life now. I will keep trying hard and keep improving myself no matter what. The rest I can leave to god. Inshallah, one day I will get to represent India, win matches for my country and bring happiness to entire Kashmir.