“I had to prove that I’m a cricketer and not a terrorist,” says Parvez Rasool, the torchbearer of J&K cricket

May 11, 2013

Parvez_Rasool

Parvez Rasool Zargar's life has not been bed of roses. The terrorists have threatened to kill him for playing cricket, but nothing has stopped Rasool from playing the game he loves the most. Today he is the face of Jammu and Kashmir cricket. Sarang Bhalerao looks at Parvez Rasool’s career thus far.

After warming the bench for 12 matches, a window of opportunity opened for Parvez Rasool on May 9, 2013 when the beleaguered Pune Warriors gave him the opportunity to make his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut. It was a joie de vivre for the people of Jammu and Kashimir — a state which is in the news for the wrong reasons. For the Kashmiri people, Rasool embodies true champion, a believer of the principle that grit and hard work takes you to places.

But life has not been bed of roses for this 24-year-old. In October 2009, Rasool was staying at the Chinnaswamy Stadium guest house as he was to play the CK Nayudu Trophy for under-22s against Karanataka at Bengaluru. There was a Champions League match between Victoria and Cape Cobra that was to take place at the venue in the evening. The police were carrying their usual security drill when all of a sudden they suspected that Rasool’s kitbag having traces of explosives. From a resourceful cricketer, Rasool had turned into a suspect and interrogated at the police station. But his coach Abdul Qayoom cleared the misunderstanding and Rasool was let off. The incident left a huge mental scar on the young cricketer.

Recalling the incident, Rasool had told The Times of India: "I could hardly sleep on the first night after the incident. I couldn't believe something like this had happened in my life. I had even thought of quitting the game. But once I started knocking the balls in the nets, I felt better and I decided to play this game."

Rasool scored 68 batting at No 4 in the game against Karnataka. He was batting amidst the realms of contrasting emotions, but he let his willow do all the talking.

He said: “I had to prove that I am a cricketer and not a terrorist, which I had to show with my bat.”

Rasool was proved innocent and the police apologised to the cricketer. According to the police the frisking instrument was faulty. How the technical glitch would have affected the career of Rasool is a matter of conjecture. Rasool’s inner fortitude helped him sail past this torrid time. An allegation he least expects to hear, considering his background. Rasool is a role model for many cricketers from Jammu and Kashmir.

Rasool was part of India A squad this year against England on the sheer weightage of his domestic performances. In the longer versions of the game, he had scores of 165 against Haryana and 167 against Delhi. In the 2012 Ranji season, he had 33 wickets and his highest score was an unbeaten 171 against Goa. He picked up seven for 41 against Assam and scored 120 in that game too.

“He’s very promising,” said former India captain and the coach of Jammu and Kashmir, Bishan Singh Bedi when he got to know about his pupil’s selection for India A. “Last year I said he was a better off-spinner than many and that put him under pressure. I withdrew my words so that he could go about his way comfortably. I’m happy to note that he has performed like a champion this season with the bat and the ball,” said Bedi.

Rasool credits his bowling success to Bedi. “It was on his [Bedi’s] insistence that I began to concentrate more on developing my bowling skills,” said Rasool.

The youngster’s story is truly inspiring. A terrorist outfit had sent a warning letter that he shouldn’t play cricket for India. But he didn’t bother about these threats and plied his trade diligently.

Against the Australians at Guru Nanak College ground, Chennai he picked up seven for 45 as a part of Board President’s XI member. He exposed Australia’s weakness of playing spin bowling. He sowed the seeds of suspicions in their minds and later Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja carried on the with the work started by Rasool.

Rasool’s IPL debut is just a small step towards his ultimate goal of representing the country. Taking into account his drudgery and toil and the impressive performances that day might not be far when he becomes the third Kashmiri cricketer, after Vivek Razdan and Suresh Raina, to don the coveted India cap.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Dubai, Jan 15: India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was on Wednesday named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year, capping off a memorable season for the world No.1.

Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.

Kohli enjoyed a tremendous run in both the formats in 2019. The 31-year-old hit his seventh Test double hundred on the way to a career-best unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October last year.

It was a breakthrough year for opener Agarwal, who smashed two double tons, one century and went beyond the fifty-run mark twice. He hit a career-best score of 243 against Bangladesh in November.

Kuldeep, too, enjoyed a memorable year as he joined the golden list of bowlers with two hat-tricks. The chinaman claimed his second ODI hat-trick of his career against the West Indies last month.

In the absence of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Shami rose to the occasion making the best in the business hop, skip and jump with his pace, swing and bounce through the season. He scalped 42 wickets in 21 ODIs over the last 12 months.

The ICC's Teams of the Year 2019:

ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

Test Team of the Year (in batting order): Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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News Network
February 17,2020

Hamilton, Feb 17: Mayank Agarwal found form on his birthday and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India’s warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw here on Sunday.

The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings.

Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name.

To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell. There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper.

While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions. He didn’t curb his aggression, though, there were times when he was ready defend the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries.

Even though Pant is considered a better batsman than Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the New Zealand second innings is Agarwal’s poor run coming to an end. The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal’s footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn’t cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings. He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match.

Once he had got his form back, he didn’t come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action.

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