It’s a dream come true today: Manhas

Back in 2021, when current BCCI president Mithun Manhas became one of the administrators of a crisis-ridden Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), he had to set things right in a body that was dealing with mismanagement and allegations of corruption. On Wednesday, when the Jammu and Kashmir team created history by reaching its first-ever Ranji Trophy final, Manhas could afford to be a bit emotional. “It wasn’t very easy at that time when I took over as the administrator.

The then BCCI secretary Jay Shah gave me a free hand and told me to do whatever is needed to get Jammu and Kashmir cricket back on track,” Manhas told PTI in an exclusive interaction after J&K’s six-wicket win over two-time former champions Bengal in the Ranji semifinal in Kalyani. “I was watching the match on TV and beating a side like Bengal that had players like Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep is a huge achievement. The cricketer in me is emotional as I ended my first-class career and also worked with the state unit there.”

Talking about the team, Manhas said he always knew that talent was not an issue, but a proper setup was needed to make things happen. “I would give a lot of credit to Brigadier Anil Gupta, who has done a commendable job. When I took over, we conducted a talent hunt competition,” he said, referring to his colleague in the BCCI sub-committee that oversaw J&K cricket administration back in the day. “You see left-arm seamer Sunil Kumar, who played a big role, is a product of that talent hunt.

Having played nearly two decades in Delhi, I had an idea of what is required to succeed at this level. We had a Cricket Committee that did a fine job, with honesty and transparency,” Manhas, the Delhi legend with 9714 runs in 157 first-class games, said. Jammu and Kashmir still lacks good cricketing infrastructure but what Manhas and his committee were keen on was creation of playing conditions that would help the team compete with the best in the business.            

“Both the Harbux Stadium in Srinagar and the College ground in Jammu have 10 centre strips each with both red and black soil pitches. We are the only north Indian state with both black and red soil strips,” Manhas said. “When we played against Mumbai last year and beat them, the team had travelled and practised in Mumbai at least a week before the game,” Manhas recalled. The committee was formed on the directions of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, due to mismanagement in JKCA.

Roping in Paras Dogra and Ajay Sharma: Manhas said his biggest contribution was perhaps getting a domestic stalwart like Paras Dogra play as a professional for the state at the of 41. Dogra is currently leading the side that has Manhas’ former Sonnet club and Delhi senior Ajay Sharma (a former India player) as the head coach.

“I have played a lot of cricket with and against Paras. He is not just a terrific cricketer but a great professional. Paras played all his cricket in Himachal where conditions are pretty similar to J&K. “The next part was that for two decades, he regularly played club cricket in the UK during off season which is a great way of imbibing discipline and professionalism,” he said.

“We needed that stable, experienced batting head in the middle order who could shepherd us during tense moments and Paras, as you can see, was brilliant,” Manhas couldn’t stop praising the skipper. Manhas said it wasn’t particularly hard for him to get both Dogra and Sharma to come on board.  “In case of Ajay bhai, we all know what kind of a cricketer he was at the first-class level and his knowledge of how to get success at the domestic level is immense.

So when I approached both of them with my vision, it wasn’t difficult to convince them to come and join the J&K ranks,” the BCCI president said. Auqib Nabi knocking at national team door: Another major contributor was Auqib Nabi, the ‘Baramulla Express’, who is the first from the state to get 50 wickets. Manhas believes that national selectors must be taking note of his performance.

“Obviously Nabi has been terrific for J&K and has done what is expected of him. He has been a match-winner and has won the big games for past two seasons. Now selection is something that I shouldn’t be commenting on as the BCCI president. “Yes, as a cricketer, I can say he is knocking at the doors of national team. Now it is up to selection committee to see what kind of role he fits in,” Manhas concluded.