Amid turmoil in J&K, Irfan Pathan and other cricketers asked to leave the valley as soon as possible
Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan and other support staffs of the Jammu and Kashmir’s cricket team have been asked the leave the state as soon as possible after the Indian Government’s security advisory following unrest in the valley. Irfan Pathan, who is a player cum mentor along with coach Milap Mewada and trainer Sudarshan VP are expected to leave the state today, as per The New Indian Express.
“Yes, the JKCA has advised Pathan and other support staff to leave J&K. They will fly out of the Valley on Sunday. Selectors, who are not from the region, have also been asked to leave for their respective places,” said, JKCA chief executive officer (CEO) Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari.
This may prove to be a major set back for the J&K side ahead of the domestic season, which commences on August 17 with the Duleep Trophy followed by Vijay Hazare Trophy. The league stage of Ranji Trophy is seheduled to start on 9th December.
The commotion in the valley has also compeled the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association to suspend all cricketing activities and even send home more than 100 cricketers who were camped at the Sher-i-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar.
“We’ve already sent 101-102 Jammu players, who were camping at Sher-i-Kashmir stadium, back. The situation is tense and even we are not sure what’s going to happen, so we postponed cricketing activities and decided to wait for the right time to restart it,” Bukhari added.
As pre the reports, JKCA had worked out to arrange preparatory camp which involved match practice by dividing the senior and under 23 players to eight different teams .
“We played a selection match on Tuesday. The juniors including U-19 and U-16 cricketers were undergoing training camp at the stadium. Apart from this, matches were going on at district headquarters. Selectors were visiting these places for talent scouting. But all these activities have now come to a sudden halt due,” India and J&K cricketer Parvez Rasool told The New Indian Express.
The unrest in the valley has also created doubts on the games set to be hosted by jammu and Kashmir during the domestic season. Nevertheless, there has been no official statement from the BCCI regarding this matter.
