What is ‘khhauw-raas’, ‘Ba_kar batting’? Jammu & Kashmir fan in Pune on joy of travelling for Ranji Trophy

Ask him if it’s a astonishment J&K topped the group. And helium retorts, “We are a bully hard-working team, not successful quarters conscionable by luck. Sabko haraayenge (We volition bushed everyone)” helium says successful soft-spoken bravado.

The textile merchant from Kashmir, has a relative successful Pune. But his contiguous cricket transportation is J&K all-rounder Aquib Nabi, his adjacent doorway neighbour. Following his promising career, and taking successful the heights of Parvez Rasool’s highest career, Sheikh ever recovered himself excuses to question astir the state pursuing his team. “Mumbai of course, but Jaipur, Chandigarh, Delhi successful erstwhile seasons and Jammu this one,” helium recalls. “You tin accidental I’m brainsick astir cricket since the time I started knowing the game.”

Ranji teams are accustomed to bare stadia, but Sheikh Gulzar is gladsome he’s successful the midst of a assemblage that is invested successful authorities loyalties, adjacent if he’s outnumbered by 50-odd Kerala supporters. The archetypal time has seen J&K conflict to drawstring unneurotic a large concern but that is nary deterrent to the Kashmiri hopeful of a fightback.

“Final jaa sakte hai kya….hum last laa sakte hai!” helium declares, adjacent arsenic his family, a sister, brother-in-law and 2 cricket-mad children garbage to leave, adjacent if luncheon nutrient stalls aren’t closeby for fans. “I privation determination was a canteen, but it’s fine. We’re present for the team. Following Ranji can’t beryllium astir luxury,” helium notes, adjacent arsenic helium hopes for a akin large stadium successful Srinagar.

He gazes astir the stadium and astatine the iconic hillock of MCA, and says, “Home is conscionable similar this, but the greenish expanse of the crushed is however each of J&K is. Green writer carpets, but natural. Switzerland feeka pad jaega uske saamne ( … volition pale)”.

He grew up a Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni fan, and insists the full household emotion cricket due to the fact that there’s nary amended ‘spiritual experience’ helium says. But backing these trips? “We enactment our asses disconnected the full twelvemonth truthful that we tin instrumentality this 1 period disconnected for cricket. It’s our yearly vacation. We person tons of endowment backmost home, but the squad needs fans supporting them everywhere,” helium says.

He tin virtually transverse the threshold and get autographs from the team, but helium taught his children to gain autographs connected the ground. “Ground pe autograph ka mazaa kuchh aur hullo hai,” helium says.

His Pune trip, surviving successful the city, has been astir visiting malls and Dilli Darbar, arsenic helium leaves thoughts of elaborate waazwan repast for home. “It’s bully to acquisition antithetic flavours, spot a antithetic culture,” helium says.

He does extremity disconnected astir a antithetic flavour of pitch-talk that 1 tin expect erstwhile J&K bowl. The enunciation is pugnacious successful English, helium says, but bash ticker retired for “cha_kar bowling” and “Ba_kar batting” (roughly ‘lets go’) and “laagiye” – what wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan is expected to yap erstwhile batters complaint retired the crease. But the champion cue is “khhauw-raas” hissed with a menace – signalling a yorker, astir to beryllium unleashed, and imminently incoming. Sometimes adjacent the Jammu people successful the squad don’t get that code. The stumps bash the singing. “And past the batsman knows.”