The native of Braripora village of south Kashmir’s Sophian district, Jasia Akhtar becomes the first ever Kashmiri women to register a place for the Indian Women Cricket Camp (IWCC). She is the second girl from Jammu & Kashmir after Roopali Slathia to achieve this unique feat. The camp is scheduled to undergo from September 18 in Bengaluru.
She left Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) to play for Punjab way back in 2013 due to lack of opportunities and adverse weather conditions in his native land. She opted to play for Punjab after having a stint of 15 years with JKCA.
In an interview with Kashmir Monitor, the cricketer said, “Snow and rainfall would consume almost our eight months here. And then cricket activities were very less coupled with frequent strikes. I had to take this decision even though I was scared whether I can make it. I haven’t revealed it to my parents yet as I want to pull a surprise on them. My brothers who know about it actually are very excited. It is really a proud moment for me because I am the only female cricketer from Kashmir to achieve this feat.”
Jasia came into the eyes of the selectors with her stint in the high-performance coaching camp at Just Cricket Academy Bangalore which took place from June 10 to 15. All the shortlisted players will be trained and selected players will be divided to play for various teams before getting a final call-up.
Jasia’s coach Abida showered all her praise on Abida and said that she has the potential to make it to the national team. She said, “It is a proud moment for all of us who are associated with women cricket in J&K. I hope that she does well in the camp and get a place in national team.”
Roopali, who became the first player, was also proud of her Jasia’s achievements. “I am happy to learn that after me Jasia has become the second player from J&K to get a national camp call. It is not a small achievement and being part of the camp as player and coach I know what it means,” she mentioned.
Jasia who hails from a moderate background credited all her success to her parents. “My father is a farmer and mother housewife. They have never doubted my capabilities and always supported me to concentrate on the game. I remember when I got the offer to play for Punjab they supported me morally due to which results have been better. I wish to play for the team and for that I will work hard as this experience will count in future,” Jasia signed off.
