Cricket has an eternal love in the valley of Kashmir. From big cricket fields to gully cricket, the sport has a special place in the heart of every Kashmiri. With growing infrastructure and newly introduced domestic leagues, more cricketers of the valley are expected to reach the game’s highest level.
The local level leagues have played an important role in nourishing the talent of Kashmir cricketers and have helped talented youngsters reach the national level and beyond in the sport. Today let us take a look at some of the top cricket leagues in Kashmir.
Bijbehara Premier League
Bijbehara Premier League is one of the major and widely known cricket leagues of Kashmir. After three successful seasons, the ongoing fourth season is living up to its hype. The current season is being played at Lush Nilandrusu Bijbehara ground and is broadcasted live further to increase the viewership.
A total of 20 teams are participating in the current tournament. The tournament is being maintained by the J&K Sports Council. In the opening game of the season, DYSS Director Subash Chander Chibber, JKSC Secretary Nuzhat Gul along with star cricketer Parveez Rasool were among the onlookers as Hill View defeated Sultan Warriors.
Bijbehara Premier League is known to attract huge crowds thanks to the quality of cricket and players on display. The league has seen many of its players end up representing the Jammu and Kashmir team at the national level.
Baramulla Premier League
Baramulla Premier League is the premier T20 cricket tournament held in Baramulla district. The league is organized by the Local Rashtriya Rifles Battalion to promote sports activities in North Kashmir. The tournament follows a round-robin format followed by the knockout stages. A total of 54 teams take part in the tournament which spans over a couple of months.
The matches are played at three different venues – Singhpora Cricket Ground Baramulla, Jhelum Stadium Baramulla, and Gdc Baramulla. In the last season, Kartikeya Rawat of BCC Reds was the highest scorer in the league with 354 runs, and Muntazim Bashir of the same team was the highest wicket-taker with 14 dismissals.
Bandipora Premier League
Bandipora Premier League also follows a T20 format and is organized by Irshad Ahmad Bhat. The league is divided into four groups consisting of four teams and is played at Sk Sports Stadium Bandipora. In the ongoing tournament, Royal Goodwill Cricket Club is the only undefeated team with three wins out of three.
Ishtiyak Rasool Royal Goodwill Cricket Club is the leading run scorer so far in the tournament with 190 runs from three matches while Waseem Akram of Kaloosa Eleven is the leading wicket taken with 8 dismissals in two matches.
Wular Premier League
Wular Premier League is one of the finest cricket leagues in Kashmir. The league is currently in its seventh edition and is being played at Shiekh Ul Alam Sports Field, Tarzoo. A total of 32 teams are taking part in the tournament which are divided into 8 groups of 4.
Samar of Hamdan Hurricanes has been the player of the tournament so far scoring 279 runs in 5 matches. In the bowling department, Nadeem Dar has been the one to watch out for taking 11 wickets in 5 innings.
Sheikh Ul Alam Cricket League
Sheikh Ul Alam Cricket League is a Srinagar-based cricket league organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. The League is held across 4 different venues in Srinagar city – NIT Srinagar Cricket Ground, University Campus Ground Dargah Srinagar, Sher-I-Kashmir Cricket Stadium and Shaheed-i-Milat Cricket Stadium Lal Bazar Srinagar.
A total of 16 teams participate in the knockout tournament. Along with the host city of Srinagar, the tournament sees teams participating from all around Jammu and Kashmir. The league has also seen some of the well-known cricketers of the valley participate over the years.
Big Bash Pampore
Big Bash Pampore is one of the famous T20 leagues in the district of Pulwama. The league consists of 30 teams and the matches are played at Iqbal Stadium Pampore. The tournament spans a period of over two months with the group stage followed by the knockout round.
The tournament has seen some of the best hard hitters of the valley taking center stage much to the delight of the onlookers.
Read More: Highest Run Scorers from Kashmir in T20s
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
