Jasia Akhtar from Shopian picked by Delhi Capitals for Rs 20 Lakh
Srinaar: Jasia Akhter, a woman cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir, was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 20 lakhs during an auction held in Mumbai on Monday.
Delhi Capitals confirmed the development through a tweet that described the Kashmiri cricketer as Jasia Jaisi Koi nahi on their official Twitter handle.
Jasia Akhtar, a resident of Braripora village, some 63 kms south of Srinagar – the Kashmir’s region’s main city, made her foray into women’s T20 cricket in 2019 when the she found a place in the Women’s T20 Challenge Squads for an upcoming tournament announced by the Board for Control of Cricket in India.
Akhter used to be an athlete before she was introduced to cricket by an athletic coach.
She told a local news gathering agency that she was interested in cricket from her childhood but the journey was not easy.
“In order to pursue my dream, I had to shift to Punjab for around 6-8 years and play domestic cricket where everyone was impressed with my performance,” she said.
She said that her performances have taken her very close to Indian camp several times and WPL is the platform where she is expected to impress selectors with her performance to get the international berth.
“Last year I switched to Rajasthan and currently I am playing for them and have performed that I will likely continue in WPL,” she said. “My parents who have already supported me are behind my success and I wish everyone had parents like me.
“I will try to perform well in the coming WPL and my aim is to play for India,” she said.
“J&K has scanty sports infrastructure as compared to other states,” she said.
According to her, people here are not positive here but one needs to be consistent to follow one’s dreams.
“My request to everyone will be to think 10 times before making any comment about anyone. Girls interested in cricket must continue their practice and they too can achieve their goals,” Jasia said.
Currently, she plays for Rajasthan and was the second highest run getter in the senior women’s T20 Trophy. A total of 409 players from 15 countries went under the hammer for the WPL auction.
WPL is a T20 cricket league organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
BCCI had received 1525 registrations out of which 246 native players and 163 overseas players were included in the auction list.
She alongside Sarla Devi from Jammu are two players from J&K to figure in the list of 409 cricketers who were auctioned for five franchises today. (With inputs from KNO)
