THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For Jammu and Kashmir, skipper Parvez Rasool is literally the captain of the ship. For a group of players suffering because of instability in the state association, the 28-year-old with one ODI and one T20I cap is the man to look up to. In a way, he is their only ray of light at the end of the tunnel.
The main protagonist for the team last season amassing 617 runs with the bat, Rasool’s six-wicket haul against Kerala in the first innings at the KCA-St Xavier’s College Ground in Thumba has taken his season’s tally to 15. It couldn’t prevent Kerala from taking first innings lead, but Rasool has continued to lead from the front.
“The idea is to give 100 per cent in every match, be it as a bowler, batsman or a senior member of the team. I know that the youngsters in the side are looking at me as role model. So I have to do this,” Rasool told Express on Thursday. “I am giving my best day in, day out,” the off-spinner said.
With its bank account frozen due to allegations of financial misappropriation, BCCI funds stopped due to its failure to conform to the Supreme Court order on Lodha reforms, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association is in bad shape. Rasool says the situation has to change soon.
“For the last three to four years, I hoped that the situation would change but it hasn’t. I hope it will in the near future,” he said. “There is nothing in Jammu and Kashmir, no grounds, no association. If you look at our team, these boys have performed as good as you can get out of them,” Rasool added.
“To restrict Kerala to 219 and to score 400-plus against Rajasthan is no mean feat. We haven’t played a home game for the last three seasons. It’s very difficult for us and a huge challenge. But these things are not in our hands and we can only do what we can, that is to play and give our it our best,” he said.
Rasool, who fell three short of a century in the season opener, also picked up a five-for in a Duleep Trophy match in October. “I always have this thing in my mind that I have to perform whichever team I am playing for. As players, you can only do well. The rest is in the hands of the selectors,” said Rasool, when asked about chances of getting back to the Indian team.
Ranji scores
Group A: In New Delhi: Hyderabad 474/9 decl (Ambati Rayudu 112, T Ravi Teja 70, B Sandeep 82, Akshath Reddy 69, Manish Rao 3/76, Karan Thakur 3/96) vs Railways 35/1. In Pune: Maharashtra 245 vs Karnataka 461/2 (Mayank Agarwal 219 n.o, R Samarth 129, Karun Nair 56 n.o).
Group B: In Thumba: Kerala 219 & 45/1 vs J&K 173 (Khajuria 41, Akshay KC 4/37, Sijomon Joseph 3/45, Jalaj Saxena 3/57).
Group C: In Vizianagram: MP 321 (HS Bhatia 88, Prithvi Raj Yarra 4/56) vs Andhra 177/5 (Hanuma Vihari 77, B Sumanth 57). In Bhubaneshwar: Mumbai 289 (Basant Mohanty 4/51) & 58/3 (Prithvi Shaw 46) vs Odisha 145 (Biplab Samantaray 72 n.o, Nayar 3/27, Gohil 3/36).
adwaidh@newindianexpress.com