‘Ignore opinion & focus on your game’

MUSBA HASHMI brings you the story of Kashmir valley’s super girl IQRA RASOOL who fought all stereotypes to become the first Kashmiri girl all set to join Team India

Hailing from the militancy hit Baramulla area in Kashmir Valley, 19-year-old Iqra Rasool is the first girl from the valley to have taken up sports as a career. From a State where we haven't seen many male cricketers, Rasool is breaking social sterotypes to sport the bat and pads.

Rasool's sport's journey started early in her school days. "I used to play volleyball in my school days. Once my coach said that I am good in sports and have a good height and that I should try my hand at other sports. So I started playing cricket. Initially I didn't like the game much but then gradually I developed interest in it," she says.

Coming from a completely non-sports background where her father wanted her to complete her studies and then settle down in life, Rasool found out ways to play cricket. She used to secretly seek training from her school coach.

"My family was against my decision. Some of my family members said that the sport was not made for girls while others said 'ladki, ladkon ke sath khelegi?' But none of their thoughts bothered me, I was very clear in my mind about what I had to do in life. I knew I had to play cricket and I will make a name for myself there," she added.

Rasool has played for India in U-19 and U-23 levels. She is represented the State for various national level tournaments. In 2017, she was honoured with H.E.R award from Mithali Raj which is given to those who have shown remarkable excellence in their fields.

Rasool played in a local tournament held in the valley where she was the only girl to participate,  and she took a wicket to dismiss an Army officer. It was since then that her family started supporting her.

“I went for the tournament without telling anyone. Only my mother knew about it, the rest of the family thought that I was going for the event as an audience. When I took a wicket there, everyone applauded me.It was there that I got all my recognition. After that my family started supporting me. Everyone was happy when the news came to them. Then many coaches came ahead to train me free of cost. The Aditya Birla group from Kolkata invested in my training. I went there for trials and got selected, then my training began. Since then I have been practising daily for atleast eight-10 hours,” she explains.

Rasool’s inspiration comes from Jhulan Goswami and Virat Kohli. She is very impressed by their actions and playing style. "I felt very bad when I heard that Jhulan had taken retirement from the T-20s. I wanted her to play. She is my idol," she says.

On how her family members treat her now she says: “Earlier they used to taunt me but now whenever I visit my home all of them complain ‘humey kyun nahi bataya, humse kyun nahi mili.’ A lot has changed since then. I get so much respect now from everybody and my family feels proud of me.”

Rasool feels that a lot has changed in these two years otherwise too. Earlier there were no clubs and no proper institutes for players to practice, but now a club has been set up. "I feel happy that the situation of cricketers in Kashmir is changing now but still there are not many clubs where aspiring players can practice. I would like to plead to the Government to set up more institutes and provide proper training facilities to the Valley’s aspiring players. It's been two years and now I feel that the girls from the valley are gradually gettibg interested in the game and their families iaee supporting them," she tells you.

Talking about her dreams and goals, she says; "I want to join the Indian women's team and would like to play the World Cup."

Rasool has a piece of advice for all girls in the valley. "All girls should believe in themselves, make a clear impression in their mind about what they want to do and work towards their goal irrespective of what others say. Their main focus should be on what they want to do in their lives. Once you have started ignoring what others say about you, you will slowly reach your goal," she concludes.