Exclusive | 'Didn't get enough chances': Parvez Rasool credits ‘Bedi sir’ — but questions the system

Kashmir willow bats have long travelled across India and overseas. What never travelled was Jammu & Kashmir cricket or its players. Then Parvez Rasool showed up. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2008 and built a career that spanned 95 First-Class matches, 352 wickets and 5,648 runs.

But numbers tell only part of the story. Rasool became the first player from J&K to earn an IPL contract, the first to play for India, and the first to make people look at J&K cricket as more than just a supplier of bats.

From Bijbehara’s bus rides to the India cap, his story is about a door that finally opened — and others who walked through because he did.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In an exclusive conversation with TimesofIndia.com, Rasool explains why he retired despite being J&K’s highest wicket-taker last season, why domestic performers from smaller states still struggle for recognition and opportunities, and how IPL performances overshadow domestic ones. Edited excerpts:

Now that you've retired from cricket, many people believe that, since you were one of the top performers from Jammu and Kashmir, you could have played more. Did you take retirement a bit early?

No, I feel this was the right time to say thank you and work with the younger boys and junior cricketers at grassroots levels.

We're happy that Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) cricket, which was little known earlier, has now been recognized. Players from J&K are now being recognized, and people have now started taking our cricket seriously. That's the very positive thing, and what makes me very happy is that I also contributed a bit, served J&K cricket a bit, I was captain for 6 years, and in between, I got the Lala Amarnath award twice (2013-14 and 2017-18).

So, I thank god that I played with good performances by my side, played with respect, knowing when to leave. Even in the last Ranji [Trophy] season, I was the highest wicket-taker from J&K. But sometimes you feel that things aren't the same as they used to. So, when the time comes, one should say thank you meaningfully. I felt it's part of life, everyone has to say thank you, and I felt this was the right time for me.

You're from a very small Bijbehara town in Anantnag, and you became the first cricketer to represent India from Jammu and Kashmir. How difficult was it for you to make it to the top level?

Difficult, definitely. Now in my area, we're contributing a bit to facilities for younger lads.

I connect with my people because I know how much we've struggled. When we were young, we used to travel by bus, and as you know, I'm not from Srinagar, so we had to travel 50 km, carrying kit bags.

Sometimes, bus drivers wouldn't even let us board because the kit bag was big, it was difficult for other people too.

All this travel to reach your academy?

No, for trials. There was no academy in our area, and even now there isn't any. There was only 1 ground, in Srinagar, where there was a turf wicket.

When trials happened, we would travel to Srinagar for 1 month, because in our area, all cricket happened on mat.

Your father and brother also played cricket. Did it help?

There was a lot of support for me at home, and because of them, it became a bit easier. For other youngsters, it's not so easy to convince parents to play cricket in Kashmir, and especially for children from villages, because there's no opportunity, no facility and no one to look up to. We in J&K didn't have any role model in cricket, looking up to whom children could aspire.My parents, especially my father, always supported me. I always say that I was very lucky, because in villages, children don't get much encouragement to pursue cricket due to a lack of infrastructure or other facilities.Thereafter, I played Under-14, Under-19, and Under-23 for J&K, and thank God I performed at every level. Due to my performance in Under-23, I got included in the Jammu Kashmir Ranji Trophy team. I played my first game against Himachal, our team got all out around 110, in which I scored 40.

When I was at my peak, I even got offers from big teams to play for them, but I always wanted our (J&K) cricket to rise, so I stayed here.

You are being credited for making cricket a household name in Kashmir and making youngsters dare to dream and believe that if they put in the hard yards, they can also make it big. We've seen that so many cricketers like Abdul Samad, Aqib Nabi, Umran Malik, and many more are now coming from J&K and making an impact. How do you look at it?

It gives me immense happiness. Earlier, no one cared for our (J&K) cricket, but now, looking at all those cricketers coming from J&K makes me very happy.So do you see any cultural change, as in now parents encourage their children to pursue cricket, compared to when you started playing?Yes, a lot. There's a lot of cricket in the valley; you'll see so much cricket.

I don't think in any part of India there's so much local cricket as there is here in Kashmir. In local cricket, there's so much passion, people have so much interest, they come in thousands to watch the game.Earlier, the path wasn't visible to youngsters. But when someone opens the doors, then a path is made. People feel like if they work hard, there's a chance they can play at a higher level.

You've traveled all over India, all over the world. How is the ecosystem in Kashmir for coaching, scouting, basic infrastructure different from the rest of the country, even now, with so much improvement and interest?

The structure doesn't exist at all. The infrastructure is the same as it was when I was playing or even before that.

There's the same one ground, the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar; no ground has been built apart from it. There's one ground in Jammu. Apart from these 2 grounds, there's no other place.However, the Jammu Kashmir Sports Council (government body) has made some grounds. Some nets have been prepared, but they also need improvement. But Cricket association (JKCA) has the same 2 grounds. How will you make players without facilities?My belief is. Although you can defer. My belief is that players are made when you provide them with good facilities and infrastructure.

Coaching is secondary. If you keep coaching, and won't give facilities to players, then things won't work out.

Abdul Samad was once projected as the next big thing in Indian cricket. However, he couldn't live up to the hype that was created around him 3-4 years ago. Do you talk to him? What didn't work in his favour?

I think Abdul Samad played well last year. Not just IPL but overal. He's a talented boy and right now performing too; last year also he scored 2 hundreds in the Ranji Trophy. Unfortunately, he was dropped in the quarter-final, I don't know why, what was the reason. It is understandable if you drop a player who has not performed but Samad had scored 2 hundreds in the Ranji Trophy and was dropped.

When such things happen, the player also gets demotivated.

But he has talent, I believe that in the coming time he'll do better.

How real is the fear among domestic players that no matter how well they perform, the system won’t notice unless they’re from a strong board or big team?

Yes, it's very important to have people speaking for you. Very important to back our players who are performing.Nowadays, our boy Aqib Nabi is performing exceptionally. Recently, in the Duleep Trophy, he bagged a five-wicket haul, which included four wickets in four balls. In the last Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan, he took 7-wicket haul.

But he is nowhere to be seen, not even included in the India A team. In small states, this problem remains; your performance doesn't get as much recognition as it deserves.

Can you tell us one thing about domestic cricket that you feel outsiders, especially common people, don't understand? Something in domestic cricket that common people don't know about, no one talks about?

Since IPL came, people have started taking domestic cricket very lightly. In entire [domestic] season if one player scores 600 runs or takes 30-40 wickets, but another player performs even once in IPL, then that player gets fast-tracked into the team.Feels a bit bad to think that some players work hard all year, for two seasons, but players who only perform in IPL get fast-tracked after one performance. So yeah, IPL overshadows domestic cricket performances a bit.

BCCI is the richest cricketing board. But still, domestic matches aren't telecast or live-streamed, so common people don't have exposure to domestic cricket. Do you feel BCCI should live-stream all the matches?

Absolutely, to telecast all the matches is difficult, but they could be streamed on YouTube. People's perception will change a bit towards domestic cricket too if they get to see the matches. Because matches are very interesting.

You played for so many IPL teams, played for India, but didn't get a long run anywhere. Do you think about it, or do you have any regret? Do you think it was unfair?

I believe that I didn't get as many opportunities as I should have. When I got into Pune Warriors [in 2013], that year I was the top all-rounder in the domestic season, after that I went to Pune. I thought I'd get to play, but I didn't. When they were out of the tournament then I got a match, and in the first game, I got Jack Kallis bowled for 23-24 runs; I took 2 wickets. In the second game, I bowled one over and gave 5 runs, after that I didn't get any match.

The way I was performing in first class, I also thought I would get a chance in Test cricket. The kind of wickets we made in India would have suited me as well.I debuted for India in Bangladesh and got two wickets on a very flat wicket, but I was dropped after one match. Then in 2017, I made my T20 debut in Kanpur against England but was again dropped after one game. I don't think that from one match anyone's performance can be judged.So definitely there'll be regret that I performed at the domestic level consistently, but I did not get enough chances. But thanks to Almighty for whatever chance I got to play for India.

As Rohit Sharma and Kohli both have retired from Test, T20Is, and are playing only ODI cricket, and in the Australia tour, we saw their bodies were a bit rusty initially. In the first 2 matches, it showed in their batting, when they came into rhythm then they performed in the last match. So, do you think earlier, when they were playing all formats, there was a very busy schedule, but now they also should play domestic cricket to stay match fit and stay in rhythm?

I feel these 2 players have played so much international cricket, and when Virat goes to the ground, because I've been with him in RCB and the Indian team, he does practice very seriously. If Virat Kohli gets out even in practice, or if he has done bad batting in the nets, he gets very angry with himself.So I think there's always an individual's call at this level, they (Virat and Rohit) know their body. They'll know if they need some practice or not. Like I play cricket, I know my body, I would know if I'm a bit rusty or not before the match, whether I need more match practice or not. So, to play domestic cricket or not should be Virat and Rohit's individual call.

Bishan Singh Bedi became J&K's coach in 2011. He hailed you as a "brilliant all-round cricketer". How did he contribute to your and Jammu and Kashmir cricket's growth?

I always say that I learned my cricket from Bedi sir. He would not always tell you about action, or grip, or any other coaching-related thing.

But he always motivated us and always talked about positive things.The most important breakthrough season was when Bishan Singh Bedi sir became our coach [in 2011]. He changed our mindset. Earlier, whenever J&K played, the thinking was that we were going only to participate. But Bedi sir taught us that 'you go and compete'. He taught us that we have to fight, not just participate. He brought the spark in me and Jammu & Kashmir cricket.He used to tell me that 'you have the ability, you can play'. Not only I, but J&K cricket also benefited from him.The J&K cricket team was absolutely nowhere when he became our coach; we used to lose 5 out of 5 matches. But when Bedi sir came, he changed our mindset. Bedi sir always encouraged players, 'go and express and back yourself and go boys play, that's it', he would say. That I'll always remember. He was a great person.