In the wake of an Indian troop surge in the valley, amidst fears of a possible terror attack on Amarnath Tatri pilgrims, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association has sent back all its players and support staff who are not from the state citing security concerns.
This includes Irfan Pathan, former India cricketer and mentor of the J&K cricket team, who will fly back on Sunday. Speaking to ANI, Pathan said, "Our camp has been shut down and the cricketers were sent back to their homes. The camp was from June 14 to July 14 and after a break of ten days, camp restarted from July 25. Yesterday, about 100 players were sent back to their home."
Pathan later tweeted: "Both, my mind & heart are still back in Kashmir with Indian army & Indian Kashmiri brothers and sisters... #Kashmir #KashmirUnderThreat"
The New Indian Express reported that the JKCA had asked all support staff and non-local players to leave their training and selection sessions in Srinagar, with the JKCA president Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari telling the paper: “We’ve already sent 101-102 Jammu players, who were camping at Sher-i-Kashmir stadium, back. The situation is tense and even we are not sure what’s going to happen, so we postponed cricketing activities and decided to wait for the right time to restart it."
The JKCA was undergoing talent scouting and selection for the BCCI's upcoming domestic season. Players from across the state had been training and practising for a month to prepare for the season.
Security measures in Kashmir were ramped up after the visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Dovai on July 12 and 13, which was followed by the announcement of an increase of 10,000 CRPF forces to the state.
A government advisory released on August 2 added to the fear and uncertainty over developments in the state, with pilgrims bound for the Amarnath Yatra asked to cut short their visit. Following this, students from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar were also advised to leave.
Air India has announced that its fares for flights leaving Srinagar would be capped following a surge in demand. The Indian Railways have also announced that cancellation fees would be waived for trains travelling from Jammu and Kashmir.
