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TimesofIndia.com at Ahmedabad: Seven years ago, around the same time of the year, Nadeem Dar was playing a club game in Chandigarh, where he was studying at the time. He received a call from Rasakh Salam Dar, his cousin and who had trained since the age of eight.“It was the darkest day of my life. I remember him saying, ‘It’s all over bro (it’s all over now)’. Before I could ask what actually happened, he broke down,” Nadeem told TimesofIndia.com. Rashikh was banned for two years in 2019 for submitting a false birth certificate to the BCCI. The ban took them out of contention for the 2020 U-19 World Cup and effectively closed the door on a return to Jammu and Kashmir cricket as well. After three rejections in the Under-19 trials, Rashikh was selected ahead of the 2018 season when Irfan Pathan joined J&K as mentor.“In six months, he played in Under-19, Under-23, Ranji Trophy and IPL, then one day we came to know about the ban,” he said.“It wasn’t even his fault. I don’t want to talk about it because it’s a very happy moment. He played a very important role in helping RCB win the title. We remember it as a bad dream,” added Nadeem.Growing up in Khandipora, a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, it was Nadeem who introduced Rashikh to cricket.This journey started with the tennis ball and from here Rasheikh learned all his variations. But at the age of 13, Nadeem took him to a local club, where he bowled with a leather ball for the first time. Within a few weeks he had made a name for himself with his swing bowling.“Nowadays there are few turf wickets in Kashmir and they were rare a few years ago. So in tennis ball cricket you only need one cement wicket and it doesn’t matter if the outfield is wet and soggy. The backhand speed that everyone admires now, he learned at the age of 14 to pick even harder. Then the last two seasons with Bhuvneshwar (Kumar). I, he also added the knuckleball to his armory. He is a fast learner, without a doubt,” Nadeem said of his brother.After completing his two-year ban and shifting to Mumbai, Rashikh suffered a lower back stress injury, which kept him out for a long time.“For four years, he didn’t play any competitive cricket. First the ban, then the injury, but he never lost hope. Never said he wanted to quit. Giving up is not in his blood,” Rasukh’s childhood friend Mir Murtaza told this website in Dharamsala ahead of Qualifier 1.“He is very introverted. On the outside, everyone thinks he is a soft-spoken guy, but he is very tough on the inside. We grew up together, played all our cricket together and even when he faced rejection in his early days, he never backed down. Mentally, he is very tough. We often pulled his leg for not being active on social media. Like other cricketers or simple people, he says: ‘All these things can wait.’ I want to play for India, which is the ultimate dream,” shared Murtaza.When RCB picked up Rasikh for Rs 6 crore ahead of IPL 2025, some eyebrows were raised. He played only two matches and had a single wicket to his name.“My only aim was to improve. I continued to work with Omkar Salvi sir. I watched Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and tried to pick their brains as much as possible. I kept bowling because that’s all I know and by God’s grace, I got the results I wanted,” Rasikh told TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad.Dar took 19 wickets at an economy rate of 9.45. In the final against Gujarat Titans, he was RCB’s most successful bowler, taking 3 wickets for 27 runs.“They (Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood) made my job easy. Throughout the tournament, they gave us a great start and that made my job easy. All credit goes to them. I was lucky to share the dressing room with them. I learned a lot and can’t wait to come back next year,” said Dar, exuding confidence.But the captain Rajat Patidar The 26-year-old was praised for his contribution throughout the season.“The way Rasukh came and performed for the team is important because you can’t win a tournament or a match with just one or two bowlers,” Patidar told reporters on the sidelines of the final.
After the final, Patidar again praised Dar.“He is very confident in his abilities, his slow pace, his backhand delivery and especially his yorkers. I think he supported Bhuvi and Hazlewood very well. Again, it’s clear that every time I see him, he’s clear about his role and what he has to do. I always tell my bowlers if you have something, if you have a plan, go and execute it.For Rasikh, the goal is just to continue the process, stay fit and do something he absolutely loves, marking his run-ups and bowling for hours.“When I have the ball in my hands it’s my happiest place. It’s been a long season. I can’t wait to go home and see my parents. I would like to dedicate this trophy to my father Abdul Salam who always inspired me to love the game. Abu never said that you are wasting time (My father never told me that I was wasting my time playing cricket). Like a pillar, he stood by me through thick and thin,” said an emotional Rasakh.India is set to play around 45 T20Is in the next two years and what the future holds for Rashikh is unknown. But with his ability to take wickets in the middle overs, he has definitely knocked on the door of the national team. If he stays fit and continues to do the things he loves, the blue jersey for the ‘Lion of Khandipura’ (Lion) may not be far away, which he has earned from his teammates.
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