From Shopian to women’s IPL: ‘About the happiness of kids in Kashmir’ says Jasia Akhter, only cricketer from J & K in WPL

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“It’s about the happiness of kids in Kashmir who will see me wear the Delhi Capitals jersey in WPL. I will be playing in one of India’s biggest stadiums in Mumbai. What more can I ask for?” Jasia told The Indian Express.

The WPL will be played on March 4-26 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

#ChinarCorps congratulates Ms Jasia Akhtar from #Shopian for selection in #WomenPremierLeague 2023. She will represent #DelhiCapitals team in the Premier League.

We wish her success in all future endeavours.#Kashmir@adgpi @NorthernComd_IA @OfficeOfLGJandK pic.twitter.com/zN839vXqXn

— Chinar Corps🍁 – Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) February 15, 2023

News of Jasia joining Delhi Capitals has triggered renewed interest in the sport among women, says Shopian’s District Youth Welfare officer Noor-Ul-Haq. “A lot of parents have been approaching us this week. With a WPL team signing Jasia, more and more girls will play cricket in rural areas,” he said.

Coach Khalid Hamid remembers the days when he would accompany a young Jasia to local matches in the Valley. “People would ask me, ‘why are you making her play cricket? We would travel to villages on the sly without letting too many people know. During 2004-2006, there was violence in Kashmir. Conditions were not great,” Hamid said.

Jasia is the eldest of five siblings. Her father Gul Mohammad Wani had once worked as a daily wager before the apple orchard blossomed on the family’s one-acre farm.

Jasia had dabbled in athletics and softball, too. In fact, she was selected during trials by the PT Usha Academy in Pahalgam. But cricket was her true calling, she said.

The first bat she played with was handmade by her father from local willow. “My father had made a willow bat. But then he had second thoughts and hid it in the rice container fearing that I would get hurt while playing the game. I would hide the bat in my phiren (Kashmiri kurta) and go to play with the boys in the village ground,” Jasia said.

Jasia Akhter. (Twitter)

The Wani family is now eagerly waiting to see Jasia on television during the WPL. “When she visits home, she brings jerseys for boys and girls of the village. She always used to say that the day would come when we could watch her play a big match on television,” Sohail, Jasia’s younger brother, said.

The family recalls Jasia first playing cricket after tagging along with a cousin to watch a game. Her early matches were against boys’ teams and soon the word spread of her ability. “I was impressed by her power hitting and the ability to bowl bouncers. She is a special talent. One day she will play for India,” Hamid said of Jasia.

It was over a decade ago that Jasia’s uncle Farooq Ahmad Gani had advised her to appear for trials in Srinagar and she was picked for the state’s senior team. She has since played for India D in the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy.

So highly rated is her all-around skill that Jaisa has played as a professional player for Punjab and Rajasthan. This year, she scored 501 runs, including two centuries and a fifty, in the BCCI Senior One Day Trophy. She was also the second-highest run-getter in the T20 tournament with 273 runs for Rajasthan, the team she now represents.

Yet, one of Jasia’s cherished memories is of current India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur giving her a bat after she made 39 runs off 25 balls against Punjab. “When Harman di (Harmanpreet) gave me her bat, it was the first time that I got a high-quality bat. I played for more than five years with it,” Jasia said.

She starred in Punjab’s title win in the BCCI Senior Women’s T20 trophy with a knock of 56 runs off 54 balls in the 2021 final. Those days, she had to undertake a 12-hour bus journey from Amritsar to Shopian whenever she had to travel back home. “After paying rent of Rs 1500, I was not left with much money and there were times when I would take the 12-hour bus journey back to Srinagar without eating anything to save money,” Jasia said.

In WPL, Jasia will rub shoulders with international stars like Meg Lanning, Shafali Varma and Jemimah Rodrigues who are part of the Delhi Capitals team. “It’s been a long journey for me. I will now tell the girls in my village that they too can dream of playing cricket at the highest level.”