‘I can’t compromise with my flight,’ says Abid Mushtaq, J&K’s Ravindra Jadeja, who wants to make it count in Duleep Trophy

When left arm spinner Abid Mushtaq was picked as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), his only wish was to meet his role model Ravindra Jadeja. Unfortunately, the day Jadeja joined the camp, Abid had to leave. He never got the chance to interact with Jadeja, but received an assurance from Ambati Rayudu that “he is on MS Dhoni and CSK’s radar.”“Ravindra Jadeja is my idol. I try to model my game after him, be it batting, bowling or fielding,” Abid who bats left handed, tells the Indian Express.“The day Jaddu bhai arrived I had to leave. So, I didn’t get much chance to interact with him. But I bowled a lot to Mahi bhai. Got good response from him. Most of my interactions were with Rayudu bhai. He was our scout when I went to Chennai for the trials. The day I was leaving, he told me to ‘keep working hard, you are close,’” he said.
The 26-year-old bowling all-rounder, who hails from Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir, is the lone cricketer from the state to be picked for the North Zone team in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
“Ravindra Jadeja is my idol. I try to model my game after him, be it batting, bowling or fielding,” Abid who bats left handed, tells the Indian Express. (Express Photo)
Abid feels a good outing in the Duleep Trophy will help him get recognition and might help him get an IPL contract.
“This is a golden opportunity for me. A good outing in the Duleep Trophy would help me get the recognition. I have been consent with the red ball. I have been in the IPL auction for the last three years but I am not being picked. But the stint with CSK and the words of wisdom from Mahi bhai and Rayudu bhai have given me confidence,” he says.
“I am the only cricketer from J&K. I am representing the entire region. I want to impress the selectors that I belong at this level,” he adds.
Abid, who grew up playing on the mat wickets back home, doesn’t want to compromise his flight and dip because he doesn’t want to lose the art of spin bowling.
“In red-ball cricket, consency is the key. You have to keep bowling at one spot and have to be patient. You have to give air to the ball. Because of the T20 leagues, the left-arm spinners look to bowl flat, to stay economical. I try to give more flight in my bowling. Otherwise, If I stick with the white-ball length in a couple of years, I will lose the appetite for the wickets. You have to invite the batsman. I don’t want to play safe. I don’t want to compromise with my flight,” he says.
Abid had a breakthrough Ranji Trophy season, bagging 32 wickets in seven matches. The best was against the two times Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha. Abid bagged 11 wickets in the match, and it was his 8/18 performance in the second innings, which helped Jammu and Kashmir stun Vidarbha 39 runs in Nagpur.
His childhood coach Shafqat Baba, a former first-class cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir, says he is in for a long haul.
“He is Ravindra Jadeja of J&K. The first time when I saw him playing in a government school at Bhaderwah, I knew this boy is special. He has played all the age groups for J&K, and if he will do well in the Duleep Trophy, who knows, he might get a call for India A,” says Baba.
Baba shares an interesting story of how he convinced then a 13-year-old Abid to quit fast bowling and switch to spin.
“See in the rural areas of Kashmir all the young kids want to become a pacer. He was also like everyone else. He was quick but wayward but what caught my eye were his leg-cutters that he used to bowl with the tennis ball. He switched into a spin bowler in two years’ time, he was in J&K U-16 state team and has never looked back since then,” says Baba.
With no infrastructure back home, Abid had to travel to Jammu, which is 220 km from Bhaderwah, almost twice a week. He says if not for his coach Shafqat Baba, he would have given up on playing cricket.
“Wo ek muskil waqt tha (That was a tough time). Travelling 220 kms one way twice a week was a lot for a 15-16-year-old. But ustaad ji (Coach) has helped me a lot. Sometimes I used to give up, but he never did.
“He would arrange accommodations for me. After I played U-19 state, I got myself a rented house. Things were difficult. I used to train, then come back and had to cook food for myself. It was a 24×7 routine. Winters were difficult because in the summers, I would go home regularly but after November, because of snow, you can’t train. Those chilly winters in Jammu kind of hardened me,” he recalls.
Abid firmly believes that the current crop of Jammu and Kashmir cricketers are exciting and in a couple of years they will dominate the domestic white-ball tournaments.
“We qualified for quarterfinals in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this year and that too without our senior players like Parvez Rasool and Ian Dev Singh. There are some exciting young talents. Umran Malik is playing for India. Abdul Samad, Yudhvir Charak, and Vivrant Sharma are playing in the IPL. We don’t have experience but in two years, we will win at least one white ball trophy, either Vijay Hazare or Syed Mushtaq,” he says.
“In the years to come, you will hear more cricketers from our region playing in the IPL and Inshallah for India as well. There is no shortage of talent in J&K,” he ended.