When India was taking on the Proteas at Nagpur, a bunch of local cricketers were testing the nerves of South African great Jhonty Rhodes in a friendly 10:10 match on a different pitch at the famed ski resort of Gulmarg.
For a change, snow cricket came alive in Gulmarg and Rhodes became the de facto ambassador of the unique game. It was for the first time a snow cricket match was officially organised by the Jammu and Kashmir government in a bid to promote tourism and extend the season by attracting the cricket enthusiasts to the valley.
“Since Rhodes is here we thought to have a promotional cricket event. We laid a pitch last night and created two teams – Jonthy Rhodes 11 and JK Tourism 11,” said Mehmood Ahmad Shah, chief executive officer of Gulmarg Development Authority.
The snow cricketing event comes just months after Gulmarg was declared seventh top ski resort of Asia by CNN International. Appi Kogen in Tohoku, Japan, tops the list as the best ski resort in Asia, followed by Niseko, Hokkaido, also in Japan.
The aim behind organising the event was also to send across a message that Kashmir is safe for tourists. Particularly after the last year’s unrest, the tourism planners have been working overtime to sell Kashmir as safe destination
“Foreign skiers have been skiing here for two months. Since there is 4-5 feet snow and we wanted to extend the tourism season, we therefore organised the promotional cricket match,” Shah said.
On a snowy meadow, a green mat was put on the pitch and a Casco ball was used for the match. For the records, the 10-over match was won by JK Tourism 11. Chasing a score of 60, the Jhonty Rhodes 11 lost the match by 10 runs.
“I have been touring India as a cricket player. It is amazing to see the parts of India where we can’t see as a cricket player,” said Rhodes.
The South African cricketer, who has been in the valley for the last one week, was fascinated by the beauty and people of the valley particularly Gulmarg. “People are great, hospitality was top class and I enjoyed every bit of the snow,” he said.
For players the match was an unforgettable experience since it was played at the highest altitude. “I feel great and it is perhaps the first time that any match has been plyed on the high altitude”, said Aijaz Ahmad, one of the players.
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