Watch: Cricket Club in Kashmir wears Pakistan cricket team jersey

Controversy-ridden Indian state Kashmir was in the news for the wrong reasons again. A video is doing the rounds in the social media which shows a Club Cricket Team wearing Pakistan Cricket Team’s jersey and also singing their National Anthem before the start of their game.

The team is recognised as Baba Darya Ud Din, who was playing a game in the Wayil playfield in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on April 2. The name of the team is after the popular saint Baba Darya Ud Din whose shrine is situated in Ganderbal itself. The opposite competing team was, however, playing in whites which is a norm in Club Cricket across India unless otherwise.

Incidentally, India’s PM Narendra Modi was in the valley on the same day for an official inauguration of the Nashri Tunnel.

Ever since 1947, when the partition of India and Pakistan took place, Kashmir has been a subject of conflict between both countries. Cricket in the state of Kashmir, though, is on the rise since Parveez Rasool’s arrival on the international scene. Rasool became the first cricketer from Kashmir to have played for India when he made his ODI debut in 2014. Ever since, more and more youngsters are getting an opportunity to be in the limelight, something which never happened before Rasool’s advent.

The team of Baba Darya went about their act with a brazen look on their face. When asked about the reason behind such a move they said they did it as a ‘mark of respect’.

“We wanted our team to look different and also wanted to show fellow Kashmiris that we haven’t forgotten Kashmir issue, so we found this particular theme as most appropriate and catchy ”said one of the club’s cricketers who spoke to Indian express.

They did not fear once for landing themselves in a controversy as one of them said: “Why should we be scared when Kashmir is a disputed territory and Allah is with us? We have not harmed anyone but just played cricket the way we wanted to with all the creativity and relevance to our homeland.”

Watch the video here :