Jammu and Kashmir may have sprinted to their maiden Ranji Trophy title riding Aquib Nabi’s swing, but the first babysteps had been taken a decade and a half ago, holding the famed fingers of a spin legend.
Many veteran cricketers who were part of the J&K team’s gradual rise from also-rans to giant killers to title contenders said it all began when the big-hearted, straight-talking Bishan Singh Bedi became coach and mentor in 2011. Bedi passed away in 2023.
“Before him, we just participated. He inspired us to compete,” former J&K Ranji captain Samiullah Beigh told The Telegraph on Saturday, hours after the team had pummelled Karnataka in the Ranji final.
Jammu and Kashmir erupted in joy, although public celebrations remained subdued in the Valley, partly owing to the complex history of the region where open expressions of joy over an Indian cricketing event can ruffle social and political sensitivities. The US-Israel attack on Iran too cast a shadow.
Jammu’s streets, in contrast, were in carnival mood, with people dancing to drumbeats and firecrackers.
Parvez Rasool, 37, the lone Kashmiri to play for India, wrote in a column that this was the day to remember the great left-arm spinner who had laid the foundations for the triumph.
“There was a time when the J&K team would just go, lose every game and come back. It was a defeatist mindset that required a change…,” Rasool, who had lit up the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy with 594 runs and 33 wickets under Bedi’s guidance, wrote.
“And who would have been a better person than a world-class performer, a former India captain, who told us that we have the talent required to take on top domestic teams,” the off-spinning all-rounder, who last played Ranji in 2022, added.
“Bedi Sir didn’t entertain politics of any kind on the field. There was a time when factionalism was at its peak. Once there were two J&K teams that arrived for a BCCI game. But Bedi Sir would always tell us that your job is to focus on your game and not worry about all these outside things.”
Bedi coached the J&K side during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. He toiled to sharpen the players’ skills, often — in a quirk of history — at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium.
Many in Kashmir believe the seeds of the decades-long militancy were sown at this stadium on October 13, 1983, when Kapil Dev’s new World Champions played an ODI against Clive Lloyd’s dethroned West Indies who were out for revenge.
The pro-independence crowd’s raucous support for the visitors would have surprised the West Indians themselves. For the shocked millions watching on TV across the country, this was their first introduction to the growing anti-India sentiments in Kashmir.
Bedi had long retired from international cricket by then. “He changed our mindset; the skill set was always there. What Bedi Sir did was to induce self-belief, that we can win. I think his stint as our coach was the turning point,” Beigh said.
After Bedi’s appointment, J&K began winning regularly, defeating even big teams like Delhi and Mumbai. Beigh was captain when the team reached the quarter-finals in 2013. “Bedi Sir would sit with us for long hours. We used to chat and discuss everything. He would tell us how he played himself,” he said.
Beigh said the most special thing about the J&K win was Aquib’s performance. “He single-handedly won us the crunch matches and made a market difference,” he said.
‘Tied up’ by dad
At Auqib’s Baramulla home, his father Ghulam Nabi Dar hoped his son would soon don the India colours.
“This man has made me proud,” he said, wiping away tears, after his son had been declared player of the tournament.
Dar said he had initially been reluctant to let a young Aquib play cricket. He recalled once tying him with a rope at their home to prevent him playing. “I wanted him to become a doctor. I thought cricket was just a distraction. But he was mad about cricket,” he said.