Farooq to go to PM about Services’ no to cricket in Srinagar

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI - Reacting sharply to the Services’ team refusing to play a cricket match in Srinagar, a furious union minister and Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) chief Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said he would take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“To hell with them for that… Services is saying Kashmir is not normal,” Abdullah said about the match that was supposed to signal the return of first-class cricket to the valley after five years.

He said that the refusal by the Services - which represents the Indian armed forces - projected “a bad image” and that he would take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“Is this how we project Kashmir globally? What message will it send about Kashmir? I will take this up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” he said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has already thrown out the Services team from this year’s Ranji Trophy championships.

The Ranji match was scheduled for Tuesday at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar. The stadium has hosted two one-day internationals - India vs West Indies in 1983 and India vs Australia in 1986. The last Ranji match in Srinagar was held in 2004 between Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa.

The Services have refused to play in Srinagar apparently on security grounds. Assistant coach J.P. Pandey said the team management had told them to prepare for the next game and that the team was not travelling to Srinagar.

They didn’t even inform us earlier. We were waiting for them and were to welcome them, Abdullah, the union minister for new and renewable energy, told IANS.

He said if security was the reason then it is frivolous.

We successfully hosted the Ambassadors Autumn Autumn Golf Championship recently. The foreign envoys had no security concerns. We play lots of cricket there. Nobody has security concerns. The Services have only negated the prime minister’s remark that Kashmir is normal.”

He added that some vested interests didn’t want Kashmir to be projected as a normal place to visit.

Abdullah also said that he would ask the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to look into the matter and investigate who stopped the Services from playing in the valley.

JKCA secretary Saleem Khan said everything was in place for the match. The umpires were here, the match referee was here, and some TV cameras were also here. We were expecting a good crowd also. It would have boosted the sport in the valley, Khan said.

Haryana is scheduled to visit Srinagar Nov 10 for a match.