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At 29 years and 26 days, Lone Nasir had a First-Class wicket to his name. The delay owed nothing to a want of trying — this was only his fourth appearance in the format. And yet, not so very long ago, he had stood, however briefly, within sight of the national reckoning.

“In 2019, I was selected for the India emerging players’ camp. Unfortunately, the camp was cancelled due to COVID-19,” Nasir recollects once the day’s play had drawn to a close.

His initiation into the Jammu & Kashmir set-up came without many obstructions.

“From where I come from, Bandipora, there is a major lack of infrastructure. I started bowling with the tennis ball, and then joined a nearby club, named Bandipora CC. A friend of mine there told me, ‘You bowl really well, you must go for the trials’ That is where my journey started. After that, I gave the Under-19 trials, and luckily, in my very first year, I was selected by JKCA.

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The roadblocks, however, arrived later, once he had earned an entry into the scheme of things.

“Whenever I had to play or attend trials, I had to travel around 60 kilometers to get to Srinagar. I could only afford either a bus ticket, or a ride in a shared Tata Sumo. I would leave my home at 6 in the morning, and not return until late at night. There have been a lot of difficulties that I dealt with,” he reflects on the journey — or, more accurately, the many journeys it took to arrive here.

Through that long climb, two men have stood beside him. His father, a teacher by profession, was perfectly aware of the uncertainties cricket brought to a teenager from a remote district in northern Kashmir. Yet, he chose not to curb his son’s dreams, so long he graduated. And Raja Saleem, a rare pacer out of Bandipora to have made the state team, who wanted nothing more than to see Nasir walk the same road.

On Thursday, Nasir carried both legacies — a B.Sc degree, and three Irani Cup wickets. Among those, he would never forget the first.

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“It was a very, very special moment for me. It has been nearly three years since I made my First-Class debut for Jammu & Kashmir, and since then, I have been patiently waiting for this day. Playing such a massive match against Rest of India and getting my maiden First-Class wicket here is really special to me. I will cherish this moment forever.”

The other two batters undone by Nasir across the day were, fittingly, Rest of India’s two highest scorers — Shikhar Mohan and Ravichandran Smaran. The former’s wicket sparked the hosts’ comeback at a time they seemed deflated.

With the scoreboard reading 106/2 at Lunch, the visitors enjoyed command over the game. J&K coach Ajay Sharma had told this newspaper that anything past 200 ought to be considered a good score on this surface, and the visitors were already halfway there.


Someone had to show up. Nasir did.

In what was only his third delivery post Lunch, Nasir floated the ball well outside the off-stump, luring Mohan — who had shown remarkable restraint through a composed 60 — to play a drive. The southpaw’s fate was similar to Gharami’s — outside edge, caught by keeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan.

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Nasir’s delivery was a jolt of belief that put spring into the steps of the entire J&K attack. The contagion rubbed off on Umar Nazir, who sent both vice-captain Sarfaraz Khan (45) and Rishabh Pant (10) in quick succession.

Rest of India lost six wickets in a span of 86 runs. Then came renewed resilience — on this occasion, orchestrated by Karnataka’s Smaran. The southpaw accumulated 68 in only 83.

Nasir delivered again, his traps making his preying pattern evident. Another outside-off delivery that invited a drive, another edge, caught by Samad in the slip cordon. Eventually, Rest of India were bowled out for 237, while J&K are 21/2 in response.

“Initially, I did not know whether I wanted to pursue cricket professionally. But when I came to the trials, I watched the other boys and analysed myself. I told myself at the time: ‘You belong here.’ From that point, I started working even harder and strengthened my resolve. That is why you are seeing me here today. Else, I would have faded away by now.”

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After Thursday’s spell, fading away is the one thing Lone Nasir need not worry about, for he has proven that he belongs.

Brief Scores: Rest of India 237 all out (Ravichandran Smaran 68; Sunil Kumar 3/36, Lone Nasir 3/59) lead Jammu & Kashmir 21/2 (Qamran Iqbal 12 not out; Mukesh Choudhary 1/3) by 216 runs at Stumps on Day 1.