Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday raised concerns over recent developments within the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, urging the Board of Control for Cricket in India to step in and protect the cricketing body from what she described as political interference and regional bias.
In a statement shared on social media, the former Chief Minister said the JKCA must remain insulated from politics, corruption and regional divisions, adding that she had expected stronger oversight under BCCI president Mithun Manhas. She alleged that the democratically elected JKCA president, Javid Khatib, along with several local cricket clubs, was being sidelined without following due process, and claimed these clubs were being targeted because of their Kashmiri identity.
Mefti cautioned against allowing the sport to be dragged into a regional dispute, framing her appeal in terms of fairness and merit. “Cricket should not be turned into a Jammu versus Kashmir issue. Let cricket, not identity, decide who represents India,” she said, calling on the BCCI and its office-bearers to ensure due process is restored in the functioning of the association.
The remarks come at a sensitive time for the JKCA, an organisation with a long and often turbulent administrative history, having previously been the subject of investigations into alleged financial irregularities. Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have periodically weighed in on the association’s governance, given cricket’s deep popular following across the Union Territory and its symbolic importance as a unifying institution across the region’s diverse districts.
Observers say Mehbooba’s intervention could prompt closer scrutiny of the JKCA’s recent administrative decisions, particularly those concerning club recognition and district-level representation. Her appeal to the BCCI, coming from a prominent regional political figure, adds pressure on the national cricket body to clarify its position on the matter and reassure stakeholders in the Kashmir valley that the association’s functioning will remain free of political or regional favouritism.
As reactions to her statement continue to emerge from various quarters, the coming weeks are likely to see further debate over the JKCA’s internal governance and the BCCI’s role in resolving the dispute.
