Jammu & Kashmir's Historic Ranji Trophy Triumph: A Collective Victory
In the iconic film Gangs of Wasseypur, there's a memorable scene where characters Sardar Khan, Nasir Ahmed, and Asgar Khan loot a petrol pump and scramble to escape, with Nasir shouting "Hum first, hum first" as he jumps into the jeep. This frantic rush for credit feels eerily familiar in the aftermath of Jammu and Kashmir's historic Ranji Trophy victory, where various stakeholders are now lining up to claim their share of the glory.
The Village That Raised Champions
The saying "it takes a village to raise a child" perfectly encapsulates Jammu and Kashmir's cricket journey. The apprehension-tinged affection from former cricketers, the leadership of captain Paras Dogra, the strategic guidance of coach Ajay Sharma, the talent identification by Irfan Pathan, the professional oversight of selectors, and the confidence-building power of social media all converged to create this historic moment.
After securing the title, Auqib Nabi, who grew up in curfew-stricken Baramulla and took 60 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season (bringing his two-season total to 104), expressed his desire to return home for a much-needed break. More importantly, he feels this victory brings him closer to his dream of establishing a cricket academy in Baramulla.
"I am one step closer, bhai," Nabi told TimesofIndia.com from Hubballi. "I would like to open an academy. There is absolutely nothing here. When I started playing, I had to go to Bengaluru for training and played lower-division matches there. I want to find and train more Auqib Nabis from Baramulla."
The Nabi Legacy: From Abid to Auqib
Before Auqib Nabi mesmerized batters with his impeccable length and swing, there was another Nabi who paved the way. Abid Nabi, the first poster boy of Jammu and Kashmir cricket, caught Dennis Lillee's attention at the MRF Pace Foundation in 2000. The Australian legend alerted Greg Chappell, then coach of Team India, and soon Nabi was bowling in the India nets.
"It feels like redemption for me. It took twenty years," Abid Nabi reflected. "Jo khwaab itne saalon pehle dekha woh aaj poora kar diya ladkon ne (the dream that I saw many years ago, it has been fulfilled)."
Nabi's career was derailed after he joined the now-defunct Indian Cricket League. "I was dropped from the J&K side because I was not doing dua and salaam to the selectors and coach. There was no professionalism. The less I say, the better," he revealed.
Meanwhile, twenty years later, another Nabi almost single-handedly propelled J&K to the title. In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, he picked up 44 wickets in eight matches, the second-most in the season, helping Jammu and Kashmir qualify for the quarter-finals where they lost to Kerala by a one-run first-innings lead.
"That one-run loss against Kerala gave me sleepless nights," Auqib Nabi admitted after being picked by Delhi Capitals for Rs 8.40 crore in the IPL auction.
The Architects of Change
Sports journalist Abid Hussain Khan, who has covered J&K cricket tirelessly for two decades, sent an emotional message after Day 4 of the final: "Wish I was there. In 20 years of sporting journalism, I always dreamt of such a moment and when it is finally happening, I was not there to witness it."
He credits the current Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association regime, a three-member panel established by the BCCI. "The BCCI sub-committee under Brigadier Anil Gupta and Mithun Manhas deserves credit. Manhas is a tough taskmaster who ended the star culture and once even punished two IPL cricketers who were turning up late for practice," Khan explained.
For years, Jammu and Kashmir had only a token presence in the Ranji Trophy. No international match has been played in the state since 1986, with rain forcing the abandonment of the fifth ODI of the India-New Zealand series in Jammu in 1988.
Parvez Rasool, the first international cricketer from the state, credited former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi for changing the team's mindset when he was appointed coach and mentor in 2011. "He changed our mindset. Earlier, whenever J&K played, the thinking was that we were only going to participate. But Bedi sir taught us that you go and compete," Rasool recalled.
Abid Hussain Khan echoes this sentiment, noting that the mindset shifted first under Bedi and later when Irfan Pathan joined as player-cum-mentor. "During his stint, he held a lot of camps. All the boys you see now, even those playing in the IPL, were hand-picked by Irfan," said Khan.
Auqib Nabi was first spotted by Pathan during a trial in 2018-19. "He gave me a lot of useful tips related to bowling. He was the first one who told me to work on my wrist and not change anything," Nabi remembered. Before leaving, Pathan even wrote to the JKCA asking the association to invest in Nabi.
A Sweet Redemption
On a working Saturday, Samiullah Beigh took a day off and headed to the JKCA office with teammates Parvez Rasool, Mohammed Mudhasir, Ram Dayal and others to celebrate this monumental achievement.
"Massive achievement. Considering the fact that infrastructure was missing here and is still not up to the mark, the journey of this team is nothing short of a fairy tale," a proud Beigh declared.
"If you see my interviews, I have been telling everybody that this team has the calibre to win the Ranji Trophy. Many laughed, journalists laughed, cricketers laughed. But finally I have been proved right. We always had the talent. The only thing lacking was self-belief," he added.
Beigh was a pivotal member of the team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy, where a poor on-field decision cost them the match against Punjab. "Unfortunately, umpiring ruined our journey in 2013-14. In the quarter-final against Punjab, we had them reeling at 147 for 7. Harbhajan Singh edged one. Everyone heard it except the umpires. He went on to score 92 and the momentum shifted," he recalled.
"And when this year we qualified for the quarter-finals and I learned that every match would be live, I told my friends we are going to win. They asked how I was so sure. I said there will be DRS. In crunch moments, bigger players do put pressure on umpires for tricky decisions. Sometimes umpires succumb. But when there is DRS to correct things, everything changes," Beigh explained, referencing KL Rahul's dismissal in the final that was overturned by the third umpire.
Unlike that scene in Gangs of Wasseypur, this story doesn't belong to the person who shouts "hum first." It belongs to the many who ran together, stumbled together, and stayed the course. Jammu and Kashmir's Ranji Trophy triumph isn't about who reached the jeep first. It's about a village that finally achieved its long-hailed goal through collective effort, perseverance, and unwavering belief.
