If one wishes to understand how impossibilities can be turned into possible realities, then one should look at the achievement of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Team, which today won the Ranji Trophy, India’s Premier Domestic Cricket Tournament for the 2025-26 season.
The J & K Team defied all odds, fought tooth and nail, exhibited tremendous determination, steely grit and an unwavering self belief, as the dark horses outclassed the more fancied and experienced Karnataka side, beating them on the basis of the 1st innings lead.
J&K put on a mammoth 584 in the first innings, with player of the match Shubham Pundir getting a splendid hundred, while batters Yawer Hassan, captain Paras Dogra, Abdul Samad, Kanhaiya Wadhawan and Sahil Lotra all got fifties to peg back Karnataka for good.
In the form of his life, Auqib Nabi Dar took another fifer to restrict the batting heavy Karnataka to 293 only. The former Ranji Champions had to skittle out J&K cheaply but a gritty ton from young opener Qamar Iqbal and a terrific century from Sahil Lotra, completely shut the door on Karnataka.
Years and years of hard work eventually got J&K success. The win will go down as one of the finest in the history of Ranji Trophy considering the amount of struggle the team went through in reaching such a great milestone in domestic cricket.
Auqib Nabi Dar, the seam bowler from a small village in Baramulla was adjudged the Player of the Series for his staggering 60 wickets in the Ranji 25-26 season.
J & K cricket’s story has a great learning attached to it and if you ever feel disheartened or begin to lose motivation, just think about the cricket team from J & K, their trials and tribulations and eventually what all they achieved.