Mohsin Kamal, the Cricket Romeo

It wasn’t my first visit to a new city. I had been to new places, met new people, and seen new things but just I hadn’t lived a new life! I never thought it would be so new. I had just packed a few things, thinking it was just another assignment. But within an hour of landing in Delhi back in February, I could smell new air. Just that this newness wasn’t so good or bad (at least not yet)! I took my first ride, of course only after downloading a few new apps that I had never used before. I was excited to meet the people I had been remotely working with for the last 9 months.  “Hello!, Hi!”, I almost shouted with a broad smile as soon as I stepped inside the office. “Hey!”, a couple of handshakes and smiles later, I settled down. “Wasn’t it a bit cold?” I asked myself! I had grown up in a place where a new guest is welcomed just like MS Dhoni is at Chepauk. Not just the broadly visible excitement but they are showered with flowering words and gestures. Maybe I mistook myself as a gue...

“Who would you seek motivation from?” “What would keep you up all the time? “Where would you get that energy from? “Why wouldn’t you feel exhausted?” “How would you manage it all?” These are the five Ws and 1H of my life. Every day I wake up, I ask myself these questions. Obviously, not all days are same; days are like the 11 players of a local cricket team– some good, some bad and some just to fill spaces! But no matter how my days unfold, my answers to all these questions remain the same. I might need to pinch myself quite a few times to get up but I make sure once I’m up, I’m ready to roar– just like how James Anderson roars as soon as the new cherry is handed to him. Again, not all pitches are helpful nor are all the batters easy to deal with! Even the roar I make comes back to haunt me! It terrifies me! I feel numb! I feel lost! I feel nothing! But then when I’m about to lose hope, I recall what Ben Stokes did at Headingly and Kusal Parera did at Dublin! “Can my day be tougher th...

England and West Indies clashed in the first post-covid cricket series. Pic: ICC "Main nazar se pee raha huu, ye samaa badal na jaye. Tera aane kii khushi mein, mera dam nikal na jaye." I was singing this Hindi song on the evening of July 8. I am neither a music fan nor romantic; I do not listen to or read poetry, if that is what you got from the couplet.  My happiness owed to Kemar Roach, a West-Indies cricketer, running in to bowl for the first time after the longest break in the international cricket in recent history.  Wreaking havoc across the globe, the novel Coronavirus forced sports enthusiasts to contend with watching highlights. If you wonder why am I talking about a game while the world has bigger problems, let me ask you this: What matters to you the most? I am sure common answers will be parents or friends, or anything you love. And that is it: Love is love, and love is what matters the most. A pandemic, no doubt, offers complications. For me, too, several other ...

MOHSIN KAMAL In this part of the world, whenever the word, “sport” is uttered, we either think of ‘kids’ or ‘fun’. The term sports is considered as a fun element for kids here, while in rest of the world, sport(s) is running parallel with education. When the concept of ‘sport(s)’ emerged, it firstly meant, “an interesting exercise to keep people fit both physically and mentally,” which, however, is no more same. Yes, there is no denying in the fact that playing sport is still the best way to remain fit but now, it has extended to the level of a ‘profession’ as well. Yet, there still are places like ours which haven’t taken up this extension. Keeping sports restricted to a pass time is one of the major reasons that Jammu and Kashmir hasn’t been able to produce enough sports stars. In spite of hurdles barricades, various sportspersons from Jammu and Kashmir have made it to the highest level, which indicates the presence of talent in the state. Most of this talent, though, go...

MOHSIN KAMAL Mere participator’s a year back and now the champions of 2nd division I-League- meet the latest football fame of Jammu and Kashmir, Real Kashmir Football Club. A Srinagar based football club headed by  Shamim Mehraj – a Newspaper owner, recently did something exceptional and unexpected by emerging as the winners of 2nd Division I-League. With this stun, Real Kashmir FC became the first team from Jammu and Kashmir to win the 2nd Division I-League and qualify for the 1st Division. Nicknamed as the  “Leopards of Kashmir” , Real Kashmir was founded just 2 years back in 2016 and has now grown to become one of the premier clubs of the state since then. Despite being among the lesser followed sports in India,  football is one of the major games played in Jammu and Kashmir.  Though, like other games, there is  no proper infrastructure  as the state has only one top level ground that too is hit by the lack of facilities. The long and ...

MOHSIN KAMAL Soliha started her Rugby career way back in 2008 when the arena of Rugby sport hadn’t taken structure in J&K. Though her hardwork and high amount of dedication lead her through as she never looked back since. She has appeared in as many as nine national outings and been part of various championship winning teams which is no less than a big achievement in itself. Her level of practice kept improving with every new achievement, “After participating in an event, I went back home and worked even more. The thing to go further in sport kept motivating me,” Soliha told The Bridge in an interview In the very same year, when she started Rugby, Soliha made it to the Shield winners team in All India Womens Rugby Championship. “It was something highly cherishi...

MOHSIN KAMAL 'Will work hard to make India comeback' SRINAGAR — The only international cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir , Parvez Rasool received the Lala Amarnath award for the best all-rounder in Ranji Trophy in the BCCI annual awards which were held today at Bengaluru. Following his trememdous performance in the 2016-17 Ranji season, Parvez Rasool clinched this award for the second time. Previously he was fecilitated with the same award in 2013-14 season. He finished the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season with 629 runs and 38 wickets, making him a contender for the best all-rounder's award. Parvez Rasool expressed his joy over getting this award,"Firstly, all thanks to Almighty. It's really overwhelming to receive this award for the second time," Parvez Rasool told Kashmir Observer "Awards like these are surely morale boosting and helps you grow as a player," he added Parvez is looking to make a comeback in national side by doing we...

MOHSIN KAMAL T-20 tourney makes return after two-year hiatus SRINAGAR  — When Downtown Champions League- a franchise based T-20 tournament- started its journey in 2012, it had a fruitful inception. Its first three seasons brought to the table what T-20 tourney normally does. Top notch cricket , see-saw battles, close finishes, passionate crowds, and, more importantly, unearthing new talents. Players like Manzoor Pandav featured in the DCL to get themselves into reckoning. A sample of first three seasons suggested the tournament was here to stay and set to become vital cog of Srinagar ’s cricketing calendar. However, the tournament’s surge was halted due to horde of reasons. The tournament couldn’t be organised two years on the bounce much to the disappointment of players and fans alike. However, the organisers have decided to hold the tournament this season claiming that the upcoming edition will be ‘bigger and better’. “We had many issues to deal with and si...

MOHSIN KAMAL The duo had been making mark in various age-group tournaments and the latest selection comes after impressing selectors in the recently concluded camp held at Gurgaon Delhi. Five Jammu and Kashmir players were part of the camp, out of which Qamraan and Mujtaba got nod of the selectors to represent North Zone in the upcoming inter-zone U-19 tournament. Srinagar —The talented duo of Qamraan Iqbal and Mujtaba Yousuf has been picked for North Zone team that will take part in the BCCI’s U-19 Zonal Tourney. The duo had been making mark in various age-group tournaments and the latest selection comes after impressing selectors in the recently concluded camp held at Gurgaon Delhi. Five Jammu and Kashmir players were part of the camp, out of which Qamraan and Mujtaba got nod of the selectors to represent North Zone in the upcoming inter-zone U-19 tournament. Both the players have been on the selectors’ radar after impressing one and all in last couple of seaso...

MOHSIN KAMAL The ground- which is practice arena for at least hundred male and sixty female players- is bereft of basic facilities like changing room, washroom, and conference hall. Lack of basic equipments, players say, is proving injurious to them. Srinagar —2017 was a groundbreaking year for Rugby in Jammu and Kashmir -valley in specific. After being nondescript sport for decades, Rugby was supplied with major boost last year. More and more players emerged on the scene. Stake-holders started to take note and came forward to help. Media’s unprecedented coverage took the Sport to another level and players and fans alike had a field time. Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council didn’t want to be left behind. It organised many a tournament-including much fancied Snow Rugby tourney in Gulmarg- as Rugby started to create a niche in Kashmir. J&K State Sports Council allotted a ground-previously meant for dominant sports like cricket and football-exclusively for Rug...

MOHSIN KAMAL Sopore Super League Srinagar —At a time when T-20 cricket is ruling the roost, Cricket fraternity in North Kashmir ’s Sopore has decided to hold a tourney of relatively longer format. Kashmir is abuzz with T-20 tournaments with huge attraction, but Cricket lovers in Sopore have come up with something different to make cricketers have a feel of matches with longer durations. Doing away with the most popular format of the sport , Cricket fraternity will organise a tournament which will league matches spanning 35 overs per innings while knockout stages will have 40-over-a-side matches. One of its kind, the organisers say Sopore Super League will be “one of the massive tournaments North Kashmir has ever witness.” They say it will feature as many as 45 teams across the valley with Cricket fans getting a chance to see some of Kashmir’s biggest stars in action. It will be played at four different venues comprising Sopore, Baramulla, Bandipora and Handwara. ...

Mohsin Kamal • Mar 17, 2018 Subhan Sports Stadium-previously known as College Ground Sopore- is one of the premier stadia in the town. It caters to a huge chunk of aspiring sportspersons who exhibit their skills round the year. Sopore—North Kashmir’s Sopore commonly known as "Apple town of valley" has always been vibrant when it comes to sports activities. The town always buzzes with cricket, football and other games coupled with a tremendous pool of talent in respective sports. The town is supplied with many a ground which play host to sports activities throughout the year. Subhan Sports Stadium-previously known as College Ground Sopore- is one of the premier stadia in the town. It caters to a huge chunk of aspiring sportspersons who exhibit their skills round the year. The stadium infrastructure got a major surge when Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council allotted an indoor stadium to the ground. Sports lovers thought it would bolster the facil...

Added on March 13, 2018 By: MOHSIN KAMAL Education doubtlessly is growing at an astonishing pace all over the world. Whether it be the addition of technologies or introduction of new initiatives, education system surely is taking more stabling shape every new day. Likewise our homeland, Kashmir too has witnessed plenty of changes in education system over the years. No doubt about the growth and development taking shape, but at the same time when we look at the other negative aspects, one mostly forgets the positives. These other aspects include one of the most popular activity, which I would rather call a trend known as ‘tuitions’. What it actually means? The dictionary meaning of tuitions is, “gathering of knowledge from a guide”, but its connotation is lot different in Kashmir. Here, it means, “a necessary exercise without which a student can do nothing in any academic or competitive examination.” It may sound bit awkward but it is the bitter truth. It’s exactl...

Mohsin Kamal • Mar 07, 2018 Kabra Altaf-a multitalented sportswoman from Srinagar- has emerged as a star judo player in the state having many a medal to her name in the short career. It isn’t easy to eke out a career in sports field in Kashmir. More so for aspiring women. Besides always having to deal with societal pressure, a girl trying to create a niche for herself finds it hard to get proper infrastructure and meet true promoters of sports. There aren’t many star attractions in women sport in the valley that upcoming sportswoman would look upto to follow their path. In men’s field, Parvez Rasools and Mehraj ud Din Wadoos have set examples for others  to go their route in their bid to achieve big in the world of sports.   Of late,Sports-traditionally considered men-oriented domain-has seen the rise of some young talent among the girls to set the stage rolling. Kabra Altaf-a multitalented sportswoman from Srinagar- has emerged as a star judo...