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Srinagar, May 3
Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has dashed a talented fast bowler’s hopes of playing club cricket in England by denying him the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) required for visa processing, allegedly due to internal politics of association.
Mehjoor Ali Sofi (25), a pacer who has represented Jammu and Kashmir in one Ranji Trophy, 4 List A and five T20 matches, was denied NOC by his own state cricket association to play in the Premier Division One for Easton Tigers Bristol in the United Kingdom, starting May 8.
“I was invited by Chairman of Easton Tigers Cricket Club to play as an overseas amateur player during the 2016 English season commencing on May 8 until September 4,” Sofi told PTI here.
In his letter to Visa Section of the British Embassy in New Delhi, Chairman of the Club, Mahmood Ahmed, said it would be great to have Sofi in the team.
“We have checked his statistics on Cricinfo and have viewed his videos on Youtube ant it would be a great delight to have a first class cricketer from the Ranji Trophy in our team,” Ahmed said.
However, as Sofi approached JKCA for a ‘No Objection Certificate’ for processing his visa, he was told that the association would not issue any NOC to him.
“I went to see general secretary JKCA Iqbal Shah and requested him for an NOC. First he demanded a proof that I have been offered to play in England, which I duly provided.
But then he told me that the association (JKCA) will not give me any NOC,” a dejected Sofi said.
He said that the secretary told him to get the ‘NOC’ from the previous association led by former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.
JKCA is currently headed by state’s Minister for Youth Services and Sports Imran Raza Ansari after his team replaced the Abdullah-led faction amid high drama last year.
Sofi said the JKCA should have been happy that a player from the state has got a chance to play in England, but instead “they bluntly told me to leave the office”.
“They should have been happy but they discouraged me and told me bluntly to leave the office. Playing in England county is a dream come true for any budding player like me but the state association, rather than helping me, has marred my chance,” Sofi said.
Admitting that the association denied the NOC to the cricketer, the general secretary said it was done as no one from the club or the embassy had written to the JKCA.
“He came to my office and yes I told him that we will not issue a NOC to him. How can I issue a NOC to him as no one has written to me either from the club or the embassy? They should write to me through a proper procedure,” Shah said.
He also said that by denying him a NOC, he wanted to make Sofi realise the mistake of “skipping the Ranji Trophy trials”.
“He (Sofi) skipped Ranji trials and told us that we were not recognised by either the courts or the BCCI. I wanted to make him realise that he had lost one year by backing that rival faction (led by Abdullah) on their insistence,” Shah said. — PTI
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