Jammu and Kashmir’s Under-14 boys’ cricket team for the 69th National School Games has been engulfed in a discrimination controversy following a similar row over minority representation in a medical college and a football squad.
The predominance of Valley Muslims in the cricket team has Jammu’s Right-wing ecosystem breathing fire.
A panel has been set up to investigate the selection process.
A veteran Kashmiri cricketer said it was the first time in years that Kashmiris had figured prominently, and that too in a “kids’ team”. “Jammu always dominates the regional cricket teams, but you never find Kashmiris complaining. This is just a kids’ team. In real cricket, Jammu always dominates. The fact that Kashmiris are more in demand in IPL is a different story,” he told The Telegraph.
A “disproportionate” presence of Kashmiris or Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir’s Santosh Trophy team recently unsettled the Right-wing ecosystem in Jammu, days after protests broke out against the admission of Muslim students to Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College.
This time, discontent is simmering over the fact that 16 players of the U-14 squad are from Kashmir and only three are from Jammu.
The controversy erupted on a day Jammu and Kashmir’s Under-16 team clinched the Vijay Merchant Trophy Plate Group title, the Union Territory’s first-ever BCCI crown. Of the 15 players in the team, 11 are from Jammu and 4 from Kashmir.
The Jammu-versus-Kashmir divide often presents itself as a question of regional identity but, at its core, is largely driven by religious identity. Jammu politicians usually frame the issue in regional rather than religious terms because around two-thirds
of Jammu’s population are Muslims.
The Under-14 team, which will play at the 69th National School Games in Rajasthan’s Sikar from January 19 to 23, was selected by the Directorate of Youth Services and Sports, headed by Anuradha Gupta, who is from Jammu. Sports minister Satish Sharma is also from Jammu.
Following the outcry, the department has constituted a probe committee headed by Pankaj Sasan, a former national player. Its members include Jagtar Singh,
Paramjeet Singh, Mukesh Sharma and Arshad Bhat — all former Ranji players or senior cricketers.
The main U-14 squad includes Mohd Ibraheem Bhat, Simnan Tariq, Jasim Shabir, Rehan Abbas Malik, Musadiq Younis, Aaqib Nabi Dar, Asif Rehman Rashi, Haris-bin-Rehman, Rehan Hilal, Sharib Showkat, Faisal Amin, Mohd Hubaish and Mohd Mudrik Beigh from Kashmir. Mohammad Usman, Prakul Dev Singh and Sahil Fareed have been picked from Jammu.
“Such blatant imbalance is completely unacceptable. I humbly urge the LG Administration @OfficeOfLGJandK to use its authority to order a fair and transparent inquiry and take strict action against those responsible, before the situation escalates into a large-scale agitation in Jammu,” BJP MLA Ajay Nanda posted on X.
BJP Jammu and Kashmir president and Rajya Sabha member Sat Sharma called for equal representation to maintain balance and fairness.
Gupta did not respond to calls from this newspaper.
A senior officer in the department, who requested anonymity, said a major complaint against Kashmiri players was that they looked older.
“At least one of them has a beard. We conducted bone tests and found that all of them are less than 14 years old. They also have a better physique, possibly because of the topography,” he said.
A Valley-based veteran cricketer said it was rare for Kashmiris or Muslims to figure prominently in cricket teams. “You take the current Ranji squad, I think three or four of them are Kashmiris and they are playing great cricket,” he said. “At the national level, Kashmiri cricketers are commanding greater attention in the IPL.”
Valley cricketer Auqib Dar recently secured an ₹8.4-crore deal with Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction, surpassing the ₹6-crore deal clinched by Kashmiri cricketer Rasikh Salam last year.
