The snow-capped peaks of the Pir Panjal range have long looked down on a culture of cricket defined by the what-ifs. Most winter mornings in Jammu, a thin frosty veil wears the outfield. Fast bowlers love it. The slices will last. For decades, this has been the rhythm of cricket in Jammu and Kashmir: seam-friendly pitches, fleeting promise and eras that fade before spring. For over sixty years, J&K have been the romantic underdogs of the Ranji Trophy.
That changed one steamy afternoon in Hubballi, Karnataka. When J&K clinched their maiden Ranji Trophy title after overcoming eight-time champions Karnataka in the final, there was a turning point. A 291-run first innings lead and a batting masterclass in the second innings turned the impossible into a foregone conclusion.
The trophy was lifted in 2026, but the first bricks were laid a few years earlier, as part of a radical restructuring that took J&K from a collection of isolated talents to a professional powerhouse.
Celebration of Jammu and Kashmir team after winning their 1st Ranji Trophy. pic.twitter.com/WSZFFNZDOT
— Selfless (@SelflessCricket) February 28, 2026
For decades, J&K cricket has oscillated between promise and frustration. Talent emerged – Parvez Rasool, Umran Malik, Vivrant Sharma – but the structure around it remained inconsistent. Infrastructure lags behind. The preparation was regional. Ambition was cautious.
The shift began with the creation of a subcommittee to rethink everything.
“I would say the main reason is the vision of Mithun Manhas,” said Brigadier Anil Gupta, who was part of that restructuring body along with Manhas and then BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
“He was playing cricket in J&K and wanted to make some drastic changes.
These changes were both structural and cultural.
“Among these drastic changes was that we chose a coach who was not from here. We chose a captain who was not from J&K. We chose a support team that was given continuity.”
TRANSFORMATION OF RED MITTI
And then came the most literal transformation.
“The most significant change was that we made red mitti wickets in Jammu. When our team went out to play, they struggled because there was no practice on the red clay wickets. Once we made that change, the difference was what we saw last year – we saw the result in Mumbai.”
For years, J&K players grew up on greens that rewarded bowling. But championships in India are often decided by playing on different types of pitches. Exposure was no longer random; it was suggested.
“We have fostered talent,” Gupta said. “We wanted the talents to be applied.”
PROCESSING THROUGH HYPE
When Ajay Sharma joined as head coach, the framework was in place. What remained was thought.
“I believe there is due process behind everything,” Sharma said.
The expectations were clear from the beginning.
“Mithun Manhas also had a vision when he brought me in as coach – he said, brother, we have to win the Ranji Trophy.
Ambitions have evolved.
“Before, our goal was just to qualify, but after that it was like – it’s a dream, a dream come true, unimaginable.”
Sharma understood that dreams require discipline.
The impact of this change in mindset can be traced to the rise of Abdul Samad this season. Seen as a white-ball specialist after his stint in the IPL, Samad re-emerged as the backbone of J&K’s middle order and finished the season as the team’s top scorer with 748 runs from 10 matches at an average of 57.
This transition from a brawny T20 batsman to a disciplined red-ball batsman spanned a century and five half-centuries. More importantly, it showed that a stellar culture can be dismantled and rebuilt into a championship-winning work ethic.
“When I joined the team, I saw him in the nets and in the matches. His mindset was white-ball cricket – he wanted to play IPL,” Sharma said of Samad.
“Once he threw away his wicket.
The squad’s message was straightforward.
“IPL is a different format. You are not a star until you perform in the Ranji Trophy.”
He enforced it without exception.
“I dropped him because he played a careless shot against Mumbai. There is no star culture here.”
Exercise has become a mirror.
“I told all the players that if someone plays careless shots at the nets, I’m going to send them out. Because whatever mindset you have at the nets, you carry it into the match.”
THE REDEMPTION OF SAMADA
Six years ago, 18-year-old Abdul Samad departed after falling for 14 runs to help J&K secure a first-innings lead in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Karnataka. That layoff took time.
“I remember that match,” Samad said in an interview to PTI.
“We had to score 14 points. I regretted that game and that’s when I got out.”
The memory remained in him.
“And that dismissal haunted me for a very long time when I was a little boy.
Time and discipline changed him.
“Now, I think I’ve also matured. I’m 24 now, so I’m maturing as a batsman day by day and that dismissal made me learn to put a price on my wicket.”
The transformation was measurable.
“Especially this season, I’ve just tried to enjoy the game and I’ve learned to keep the game situation in mind as well. So it’s worked well for me.”
In the final, his measured 61 off 104 balls ensured that J&K’s first innings total swelled. Once the trophy was secured, the old regrets softened.
“I think this win will ease the pain of that day.
BARAMULLA EXPRESS
As the batsmen piled on the runs, steel J&K structure provided by Auqib Nabi. In a season that will be remembered for decades, Nabi proved to be an unrelenting force, scoring 60 goals and winning the Man of the Match award in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, before being named Player of the Tournament after the final.
Nabi’s impact went far beyond scoring; recalibrated the identity of J&K’s pace attack. Historically, J&K’s bowlers have been seen as dependent on the conditions – deadly in the misty mornings of Srinagar, but less effective on the flat, sun-baked tracks of the south. Nabi challenged this stereotype.
He maintained a pace of around 135 km/h and repeatedly hit the seams and turned the dead tracks into testing surfaces for the opposition batsmen. His ability to spell long spells meant that the pressure never let up, allowing the Paras Dogra skipper to constantly squeeze the opposition.
Bowling coach P Krishna Kumar, who waited 35 years for a Ranji title – 15 as a player and 20 as a coach – explained why Nabi is a “coach’s dream”:
“It’s his wrist position. That’s his biggest strength. Landing the ball on the seam most of the time and bowling in the right areas. If you get the ball to the right place, the pitch doesn’t matter. You saw it here at Hubball – he took five wickets on a dead pitch. I teach them the tactics of finding batsmen’s mistakes and a student who is a complete batsman.”
Nabi’s rise also provided an umbrella effect for the rest of the attack. With Nabi controlling one end, young talents like Sunil Kumar (31 wickets) found freedom to attack. The synergy between Nabi’s discipline and Sunil Kumar’s energy turned J&K into a consistent 20-wicket side.
Head coach Ajay Sharma remains in awe of Nabi’s season.
“I have played a lot of domestic cricket and I have not seen a bowler with such consistency of line and length. He is a very simple bowler but his wrist position is excellent. He is a bowler who can win matches at number one. Along with Sunil, he represents a very bright future for this region.”
THE MIDNIGHT CALL
On the eve of the final, the preparation was disturbed by two injuries. Shubham Khajuria suffered back spasm. Vanshraj Sharma twisted his leg.
“It was a situation that worried us,” admitted Ajay Sharma.
The phone call went to Qamran Iqbal, who boarded the plane on the eve of the match and reported to the team on the morning of the first day.
“It’s not easy to travel at night and play straight the next morning,” Sharma said. “But he showed he picked up where he left off.
Iqbal’s unbeaten 160 in the second innings has become part of J&K lore – not just for its volume but also for its timing. He was dropped at the start of the season. He became indispensable in the final.
He ensured that Karnataka’s hopes of cheaply bouncing J&K in the second innings and chasing down the target were dashed.
The path to the final was not straightforward. J&K defeated former champions, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bengal and Karnataka. They did it without the star power that many opponents possessed.
“You see this side – there are Test players playing for their teams but we don’t have stars,” Sharma said. “So we played as a team. And the belief was that yes, if we apply ourselves properly, we can win.”
This belief was created on purpose.
The infrastructure has improved. Roles have been clarified. Standards strengthened.
“Ajay sir created an atmosphere where he let everyone know what to do,” said Samad. “He gave everybody a role and everybody followed it. So that helped us.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
This win will be significant for J&K. It will inspire teams from other regions to believe and work on their ambitions.
“I think this is a big achievement for every individual from J&K,” said Samad. “Not just the players, the staff, but the people of J&K, the youngsters, the aspiring cricketers.”
He believes it will change the sporting imagination of the region.
“People are going to be interested in cricket now and they’re going to try to practice and come to trials as well. So most people weren’t that interested in cricket before that I think and that might change now.”
Rome wasn’t built in a day. This wasn’t either.
It was built from red soil imported on purpose. With clean sessions strictly monitored. With the stars, he reminds us that reputation means nothing without runs. With pitchers, they learned that wrist position can neutralize any surface.
The impossible was not a miracle after all. It was a process.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
02 March 2026 10:00 AM IST
