Once charged for militancy, Kashmir's Parvez Rasool scores win in Ranji Trophy

Guwahati, Dec 6: A Kashmiri youth, Parvez Rasool, overcame his troubled past and guided his team to victory in the Ranji Trophy match here on Tuesday. 23 year old Rasool led Jammu & Kashmir to their first Ranji victory in three years as they beat Assam in the finals. He had a top score of 67 runs in his side's first innings, a 106-ball unbeaten 120 in the second, and took 7 wickets for 41 as Assam was defeated by 235 runs. The all rounder hailing from Bijbehara town in Anantnag district of Kashmir was declared as man of the match. Way back in 2009, Rasool was embroiled in controversy after he was taken into police custody over the case of militant attacks in southern Bangalore city. Police along with a few other people detained Rasool, who was a member of his state's junior cricket team, as they had been staying within the premises of the Chinnaswamy Stadium which became the target of the militants. The youngster was later cleared of all charges and continued with his cricketing career to achieve greater heights. While talking to reporters, the cricketer said that he has left behind the unfortunate incident, which alienated him from the game and is now focused to achieve his goal. “I dont want to talk much about that incident. The way things happened back then is something I don't want to talk about. I am a cricketer and I like to concentrate on cricket alone. Whatever happened back then is something I have left behind me and followed cricket. Now that I have worked so hard, I have got such good results,” said Rasool. The current Ranji season has been very good for the all rounder and he had proved his worth earlier as well when he had struck a hard hitting 171 runs against Goa in the last match. Like all budding cricketers, Rasool also wants to make it to the national team and play for his country in the international arena. “I pray to Almighty God that all the hard work we do goes solely for the Indian team. Any player who plays from Kashmir or Jammu, who plays in the rest of India have only the single aim of playing for the Indian team. I also hope that I one day play for the Indian team,” he said. Rasool's love for cricket stems from his family; his father and brother have also been avid cricketers who have played for the state team earlier. Although the Bangalore episode may have been a hard experience for him, Rasool has shown his talents with his brilliant performances during this Ranji season. Two decades of militancy in Kashmir has affected the image of its people in the rest of the country as well where they sometimes become the primary suspects by security agencies in the event of any militant threat.