Hubballi, Feb 28 – BCCI President Mithun Manhas was thrilled to see Jammu and Kashmir win their maiden Ranji Trophy title, but he believes that building new stadiums in the region is crucial for further development of cricket.
After 67 years of effort, Jammu and Kashmir defeated eight-time champions Karnataka and secured the coveted title by winning by a massive 291-run first innings lead.
"It took us 67 years. It was a long journey to achieve this. I am very grateful to the BCCI for providing us with a state-of-the-art academy in Jammu, where we will have indoor facilities, a swimming pool, and a gymnasium," Manhas said after the Ranji Trophy final on Saturday.
"Now, we want to have stadiums built in both Jammu and Kashmir, and also in Rajouri, Poonch, and Chenab, because this team has players from all over.
"So, this is what we need, and the elections will be held soon. Hopefully, we will get the funds from the BCCI," he added.
Manhas praised skipper Paras Dogra for bringing a sense of calm to the team's dressing room.
Manhas had appointed Dogra as the captain of J&K when he was working with the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
"We were looking for a captain. I think Paras was the right choice. He comes from Himachal, and he knows the conditions in J&K very well. He has played a lot of cricket in England, which makes him a professional.
"He is the kind of person who is rarely aggressive. He is calm and quiet, and he does things in a structured and meticulous way. This helped us in the dressing room," Manhas said.
"You know, we northern boys are very aggressive with each other. That's how we are. But Paras brought a sense of calm. So, I think everything started falling in place for us," he noted.
Jay Shah's vision for J&K cricket
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Former BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, who is currently heading the International Cricket Council, has paid special attention to improving the standards of cricket, Manhas revealed.
"The association before us tried their best. But the real game-changer happened when the BCCI formed the sub-committee back in 2021. We are very grateful to Jai bhai and his vision. He made this committee with the administration, cricket, and the right players in mind."
In fact, Shah visited the region extensively during his tenure at BCCI to get firsthand knowledge of J&K cricket.
"He was the first secretary in the history of J&K in 67 years to come to Jammu and see the facilities himself. Once he was there, and he showed us his full support, things started moving in the right direction.
"We used to have a quota of 8 players from Srinagar and 8 from Jammu. We never believed in such a system. The only quota is merit," he said.
"Before us, there used to be 28 or 30 players in a season. But once we got involved, we realized that the system had to be in place."
Manhas said Shah's idea of forming the Cricket Advisory Committee had a positive impact on J&K cricket.
"We formed a CAC, which included Abdul Qayyum from Kashmir, a premier fast bowler. He has played about 48 matches. He was a star bowler for J&K. Then we involved Ashwini Gupta who has played about 78 first-class games.
"There's a female cricketer who played at the highest level—Rupali, so all of them were involved. Then luckily we were able to find good selectors. I think all the selectors we have now, they've played for J&K. The minimum matches that they've played is 35. They've captained J&K and they've played for North Zone as well.
"So, we got in all the competitors who had the experience and who knew what it takes to rise. So, once the system was in place, we all started moving in the right direction," he added.
Manhas then explained how the Shah-led panel made on-ground changes to improve the quality of cricket in the valley.
"Now, the challenge was that we were doing well in North Zone and East Zone matches. But we were not up to the mark when we played in West and South. So, we imported the red soil from Maharashtra and we made wickets.
"Now we have about 10-12 red soil wickets and 10-12 black soil wickets. So, the process was still on, but we made sure that we played on the right tracks and did the right things."
"Then, what we did was, we played with SG Test balls. All the camps that we conducted were with SG balls and Kookaburra balls for the players to get used to it," he concluded.
