How a star-studded Kashmir cricket league bombed as organisers fled

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – Aasif Manzoor, a 32-year-old cricketer from Anantnag, a territory successful the southbound of Indian-administered Kashmir, was readying himself connected Saturday greeting to play a lucifer successful a star-studded tournament.

Retired planetary stars, section cricket icons and up-and-coming players were each portion of the Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL), which organisers had billed arsenic a spectacle that they promised would grip the troubled portion and gully ample crowds.

Instead, Manzoor recovered himself huddled with his teammates successful the corridors of the Radisson, a five-star edifice overlooking the Jhelum River successful Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir’s biggest city, which was hosting the series.

Their edifice bookings had been arranged by the Yuva Society, a backstage radical based successful India’s bluish authorities of Punjab, which had besides organised the tournament. “The unit was refusing to fto america cheque out,” Manzoor told Al Jazeera.

The reason? The organisers had vanished the nighttime before, allegedly aft moving retired of wealth midway done the tournament.

As the edifice bills mounted and ran into millions of rupees, dozens of players similar Manzoor recovered themselves trapped. Scoring runs and taking wickets wasn’t connected their minds immoderate more. Getting retired of the edifice was.

They yet were capable to leave, but the remainder of the tourney was scrapped.

The embarrassing debacle has raised questions astir the event’s readying and the relation of the region’s administrators. But to many, the occurrence is besides the latest illustration of the pitfalls of attempts by the Indian authorities and firm entities backed by it to represent a consciousness of “normalcy” successful Kashmir, six years aft Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities scrapped the region’s semiautonomous peculiar status.

“It was a shocking acquisition for us,” Manzoor said.

Former West Indies cricket prima Chris Gayle was 1 of the large draws of the Kashmir league earlier it collapsed [Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo]

A star-studded show, present ‘abandoned’

The fortnight-long cricket tourney kicked disconnected connected October 25 successful chilly Srinagar arsenic wintertime acceptable in. The contention had 8 teams, including 32 erstwhile planetary cricketers, with the bulk of the remainder of the players from Kashmir.

Major planetary stars included erstwhile West Indies champion batsman Chris Gayle, ex-Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera, New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder, South African Richard Levi and Omani subordinate Ayab Khan.

“For the archetypal time, we volition person planetary cricket superstars similar Chris Gayle playing for a section Kashmiri team,” Nuzhat Gul, who heads the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council, said astatine the opening of the tournament.

“The motive for organising specified tournaments was to prosecute the young positively,” she said, adding that the authorities had offered infrastructure, publicity and logistical assistance to the organisers.

The tourney was expected to reason connected Friday.

But officials who spoke to Al Jazeera connected information of anonymity said the lawsuit ran into “sponsorship difficulties”. In different words, sponsors didn’t wage up arsenic they had promised to. That situation was amplified erstwhile it became wide that lone a trickle of section Kashmiris was coming to ticker the matches astatine the Bakshi Stadium, a sprawling sports installation successful the mediate of Srinagar.

Things came to a caput erstwhile the organisers packed up and near successful the mediate of the nighttime past Friday, leaving players haggling with hotels implicit unpaid country rents.

Trapped astatine the Radisson, Manzoor said helium tried calling the organisers. But nary 1 picked up oregon returned his calls.

“It took a portion to recognize what was going on.”

Eventually, Manzoor said, a elder subordinate from the English Cricket Board, Melissa Juniper, who was besides successful Srinagar for the event, rang up the British precocious committee successful New Delhi, whose officials spoke to the edifice staff.

“They worked retired something, and the players were allowed to cheque out, including myself,” helium added. Juniper, helium said, stayed backmost astatine the edifice portion British officials figured retired however to wide the dues.

The British precocious committee did not instrumentality queries from Al Jazeera connected its reported mediation with the edifice unit successful Srinagar connected behalf of the players. But connected Wednesday, Mushtaq Chaya, proprietor of the Radisson successful Srinagar, told reporters that the organisers had defaulted connected payments of much than 5 cardinal rupees ($57,531).

Meanwhile, FanCode, a cricket streaming app, has since Saturday listed the remaining matches of the contention arsenic “abandoned”.

Kashmiri men play cricket connected the outskirts of Srinagar successful Indian-administered Kashmir [File: Dar Yasin/ AP Photo]

‘Something chill is coming’

According to Manzoor, players had started realising that determination was thing incorrect with the lawsuit adjacent earlier the organisers packed up and left.

“Local players were demanding that the organisers indispensable archetypal motion a declaration with them earlier they tin proceed [to play]. They were assuring america that it would happen. But it did not,” Manzoor said.

“Then suddenly, they near without anyone knowing astir it. We did not expect it to extremity this way.”

Kashmiri authorities are present facing mounting questions from locals: How was the lawsuit fixed a go-ahead without inheritance checks connected the organisers? And did the tourney spell done the rigorous scrutiny immoderate lawsuit successful Kashmir is usually taxable to successful a portion known for sweeping restrictions and surveillance?

Police successful Kashmir person announced an probe arsenic determination sports authorities — including Gul of the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council — are present distancing themselves from the organisers.

“If they did this, the instrumentality would instrumentality its ain course,” said Satish Sharma, the curate for younker services and sports successful Kashmir. “An enquiry has started, and enactment volition follow. Police person taken up the case.”

Al Jazeera tried to scope the Yuva Society but has not received immoderate response. Meanwhile, the organisation’s website appears to beryllium down since the debacle. Details astir the organisers are nary longer disposable connected the portal.

All it inactive has is simply a azygous connection flashing connected the screen: “Get ready, thing chill is coming!”

Parvez Rasool, centre without cap, was the archetypal Kashmiri cricketer to marque it onto the Indian nationalist squad [File: AM Ahad/ AP Photo]

‘A batch of anticipation’

For a while, it did look similar thing “cool” could beryllium coming to Kashmir.

Social media visuals for the lawsuit amusement Gayle, who was 1 of planetary cricket’s biggest draws for 2 decades, taking dense steps connected the damp turf successful the Srinagar stadium arsenic his hairsbreadth swung nether a achromatic bandana tied astir his forehead.

In astir shots, the seats astir the venue during matches were sparsely occupied. But successful 1 scene, a tiny assemblage of young fans is jumping with jubilation arsenic heavy equipped members of the Indian paramilitary forces situation them.

“There was a batch of anticipation for this tournament,” Parvez Rasool, arguably Kashmir’s best-known cricketer, told Al Jazeera. “That section Kashmiri cricketers would stock the aforesaid dressing country arsenic these megastars was a large happening successful itself.”

Rasool was besides to play successful the tournament. He roseate to stardom successful 2013 aft concisely playing for the Indian cricket squad – the archetypal Kashmiri to bash so. His inclusion successful the nationalist squad was lauded by the Indian media and politicians arsenic an illustration of the “mainstreaming” of Kashmiris astatine a clip erstwhile the portion was successful turmoil aft a crackdown connected protesters. Since the precocious 1980s, Kashmir has been successful the throes of an equipped rebellion with separatists seeking independency from India.

Rasool said his payments person not been settled by organisers truthful far. “The radical who approached maine to instrumentality portion are large names successful Indian cricket, truthful I consented,” helium said, without naming the individuals helium was referring to.

“I don’t hold with the allegations that the lawsuit was organised successful atrocious faith, but it seems that it whitethorn not person been decently planned. The sponsors person reportedly failed to crook up, and the assemblage wasn’t adjacent 5 percent of what was expected,” helium added.

The Indian Heaven Premier League coincided with Kashmir’s pome harvest, which is wherefore astir locals couldn’t travel to the cricket, immoderate analysts accidental [File: Dar Yasin/AP Photo]

Apples implicit cricket

Another Kashmiri cricketer who was portion of the trials earlier the main tourney was held said a batch of his peers were already disappointed with the league due to the fact that of the lack of immoderate ceremonial contracts oregon payments.

“They took a interest of $14 from bowlers and batsmen and of $20 from all-rounders who took portion successful the trials,” the 24-year-old said connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium feared repercussions for his comments.

“Everything seemed suspicious from the precise beginning. Thisara Perera, the Sri Lankan star, played with us. It was embarrassing that adjacent his azygous wasn’t tailored to his size. The size of his sportswear was 46 [inches], but they offered him 42,” the Kashmiri subordinate said, chuckling.

While immoderate sports enthusiasts successful Kashmir said it was the comparatively precocious terms of the tickets astatine $4 each that kept spectators away, others blamed the timing of the event, which coincided with the yearly pome harvest. As a result, galore locals were engaged tending to their orchards. Apples supply a livelihood for astir fractional the region’s 8 cardinal people.

“Some matches lasted from 10am until 5 successful the evening,” said a video writer who filmed the tourney for his Instagram page. He spoke connected information of anonymity. “Obviously, who would crook up successful the mediate of the harvest?”

But to immoderate analysts, the tournament’s illness is besides emblematic of the attempts by Modi’s authorities and section authorities to represent a consciousness of normalcy successful Kashmir.

Critics argued that specified state-backed events purpose to depoliticise Kashmir’s realities adjacent arsenic surveillance tightens, dissent is curbed and governmental practice remains suspended.

In 2019, Modi’s authorities annulled Kashmir’s peculiar presumption and downgraded the portion into a federally controlled territory during a crackdown connected journalists, quality rights campaigners and absorption politicians.

Omar Abdullah, who returned arsenic Kashmir’s main curate during past year’s polls, has been pleading successful vain with New Delhi to reinstate Kashmir’s pre-2019 powers.

Apoorvanand, a Hindi prof astatine the University of Delhi who writes literate and taste criticism, told Al Jazeera that the cricket tourney acceptable a broader pattern.

“It’s been a portion of Modi’s governmental repertoire close from 2014 to organise these celebrations to springiness an quality of cheerfulness truthful that his critics don’t question him,” Apoorvanand, who goes by a azygous name, said, referring to the twelvemonth Modi became India’s premier minister.

Similar events held successful Kashmir successful the past person travel nether criticism, specified arsenic past period erstwhile a fashionable New Delhi-headquartered tv quality transmission organised a performance featuring fashionable Indian performer Sonu Nigam.

The performance was boycotted by galore Kashmiris, citing the performer’s past tweets successful which helium had criticised the signifier of loudspeakers being utilized for the Islamic telephone to prayer.

“The main addressees of these events are Modi’s voters crossed what is known arsenic the country’s Hindi-speaking belt. The connection that his medication wants to telegraph is that everything is hunky-dory successful the [Kashmir] Valley,” Apoorvanand said.

“It is to springiness them a consciousness of ownership implicit the region.”

Kashmiri researchers who person been observing the struggle for decades said that portion ample events specified arsenic the cricket contention are by themselves harmless, immoderate effort to usage them to nonstop broader messages astir the existent authorities of Kashmir is problematic.

“If these events are meant to suggest Kashmir is ‘normal’, past what amended mode to show [that] than withdrawing the subject forces, the draconian laws and the suppression of dissent?” said Mohamad Junaid, an subordinate prof of anthropology astatine the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts successful the United States.

If the Modi authorities “wants the satellite to spot ‘normalcy’,” helium said, “India could statesman by releasing thousands of Kashmiri governmental prisoners from jails.”