When Umran made debut in IPL, he turned heads with his sheer pace of bowling consistently at 150kmph thus giving cricket fans plenty of enjoyment and adrenaline rush and hope to the budding fast bowling youngsters of Jammu and Kashmir.
Apart from Umran, four other fast bowlers from J&K served as net bowlers for IPL franchises – Sharukh Dar and Umar Nazir at Sunrisers Hyderabad, Basit Bashir at Punjab Kings, and Auqib Nabi at Gujarat Titans.
The latest in the long list of tear-away quicks from J&K’s pace factory is 22-year-old Waseem Bashir.
Hailing from Mamal village of Pahalgam, Waseem was a staunch cricket lover since his childhood. After playing street and lawn cricket for several years, Waseem at High School level played U-19 and U-23 at district and state level cricket during his secondary and higher secondary school days.
His passion for the game was such that in the absence of sports infrastructure in his area, he used to go to other distant areas like Anantnag and Bijbehara to play cricket with different teams. At many local tournaments, Waseem impressed all and sundry with his pace, skill, and accuracy.
The youngster has been touted as an exciting prospect for the future after recent performances in the U-25 domestic cricket, but he won’t have to wait long if he finds a place in the IPL after his impressive spells in his recent games.
Waseem can be the jewel in the nation’s cricketing crown as he caused a good deal of surprise in his recent matches in the U-25 tourney by flattening the stumps of the batsmen with a sensational combination of pace and seam movement.
Apart from Waseem, there are many more rising stars of sheer raw pace who have stolen the limelight with their searing speeds, living true to J&K’s relentless reputation as a fast-bowling factory.
Yasir Rasheed, a 17-year-old fast-bowler from South Kashmir’s Anantnag district is quite promising at this young age. He belongs to a family with modest means and could emerge as a top bowler in years to come if he is taken care of. He has already played for J&K at the U-19 level.
Nasir Lone, a pace-bowling all-rounder from North Kashmir’s Bandipora district is another rising star quite promising in both batting and fielding. He is currently part of J&K’s under-25 team and was at his very best in the ongoing U-25 one-day tourney. He made match-winning unbeaten 29-ball 59 runs against Chhattisgarh and with the ball, defended 14 runs off the last over by bowling 4 dots.
Basit Bashir, a 19-year-old left-arm pacer from North Kashmir’s Kupwara district bowls super quick and can swing the ball both ways. He’s also currently a part of the J&K U-25 team and has done well at U-19 level.
Similarly, one more fast bowling sensation from Kashmir is Tahir Bhat who probably bowls at over 140kmph and is known for his deadly yorkers and bouncers. The youngster was once praised by South African legend Jacques Kallis during a net-bowling stint.
Raja Saleem, an ex-Ranji cricketer who has been playing cricket for twenty six years told Rising Kashmir that fast bowling is not something new as J&K has been producing fast bowlers from 70s. From Abdul Qayoom of Srinagar to Abdul Qayoom of Bijbehara and then Umran Malik and new budding pacers, these speedsters have brought laurels to the J&K time and again.
Saleem said Abdul Qayoom of Bijbehara, Anantnag was known for his pace and bounce as well as his ability to swing the ball and bowl and was regarded as the “poster boy” of Jammu and Kashmir cricket and the finest fast bowler from the state in 80s. He became the first player from Kashmir Valley to be picked for a national-level squad.
He said J&K has no dearth of fast bowling but proper infrastructure and guidance. “Fast bowlers mostly play cricket on mats here and once their ball cross seams, they think they don’t need any training but once they go on turf wickets, they fail to perform”, he said while replying over why J&K players do not make on big stages despite such sheer pace.
Mithun Manhas, former cricketer and member of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association sub-committee who look after the affairs of the J&K’s cricket association told Rising Kashmir that J&K region has always been naturally strong to produce fast bowlers and there is no doubt in it, but they have always lacked exposure and guidance. There’s no lack of talent, it’s lack of exposure, match experience and the facilities which can be provided to them.
Mithun said, “In the past, we neither had a good exposure and guidance, nor did we go from village to village to find out which bowlers can be nurtured and for whom we can set up a proper academy”.
He added, “As far as we are concerned, we did a talent hunt where all the chief selectors were present and they chose the best among the boys and girls, who made it to national and international levels. We are also improving the infrastructure. We are using kookaburra balls, the balls used in national and international levels to train the players. Such facilities are not given in any part of the country”, Mithun said.
We try to fulfill all the basic requirements that will help us to promote cricket and keep the players advancing, he said.
Mithun said they are also trying to have a best and level one bowling coach for every team. “We are not at such a level right now but recently we did the level one training session for 10 to 15 coaches who will serve the teams in future. Overall development is going well not only in boys but also in girls. The future seems bright and for that we must consistently nurture the players”, he added.
Replying to the query whether some of J&K’s fast bowler can catch eye of IPL Franchises this year, Mithun said,“many boys have been called up by the IPL franchise this year and many more from J&K will be seen playing in IPL in the near future. J&K possesses good cricketing talent and once consistency comes in their performances, no one can stop them from performing on big stages”, he added.
