– Mohsin Kamal
“I was kind of disappointed but I told myself that even if I’m not picked (in IPL Auction), it’s time to prove that I have what it takes!” Abid Mushtaq, the Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder, revealed what he was thinking ahead of the Ranji Trophy encounter against Vidarbha.
Just a few days before the match, Abid was not picked by any franchise in the IPL Auction 2023. He had trailed with as many as seven franchises and done well at every trial. The left-arm spinner, who is more than capable with the bat too, was a top performer for J&K with both bat and ball in both the white-ball tournaments (Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy) this season.
So, he had some expectations from the auction but it appeared that his name didn’t even come under the hammer. The disappointment was there but Abid decided not to give up so early.
“More than you, your family feels bad about it but I decided it’s time to work harder and perform better,” Abid said.
On December 29, the 25-year-old bowled the spell of his career at VCA Stadium, Nagpur in the third round of Ranji Trophy 2022/23. Vidarbha was 96-3 at Tea of Day 3, needing another 45 runs to win the match. It seemed the hosts will run away with an easy win and J&K is set to lose the third consecutive match.
However, 15 minutes after the tea, everything changed. Abid Mushtaq came as a cyclone, taking along both Vidarbha’s batters and hopes. From 97-3, Vidarbha was bundled out on 101. They lost 7 wickets at 4 runs in 6 overs! It all felt like a miracle as J&K beat the Faiz Fazal-led Vidarbha side by 39 runs literally in a span of 15 minutes.
“I was so confident about taking wickets that I went to the captain and told him, “Give me the ball and I’ll get them out,”’ Abid revealed.
Abid registered the figures of 8-2-18-8 in the second innings and finished the match with 11 wickets. He has taken a total of 19 wickets in 3 matches so far and is in the top 10 wicket-takers of the Ranji Trophy this season.
#CricketTwitter
This is Abid Mushtaq, a left-arm spin all-rounder from J&K, who can be brutal with the bat and has the knack of taking wickets! I’ve predicted that this guy will be playing #IPL in next two years! (IPL2023 hopefully) Watch his 19-ball 42 today against MP in VHT⤵️ pic.twitter.com/WUOMu3NeaB— Mohsin Kamal (@64MohsinKamal) November 12, 2022
Who is Abid Mushtaq Ali and what makes him special?
While Abid made it to the headlines this season mostly, he has been around in the J&K cricket circle for quite some time. Born in Bhaderwah town of district Doda, which is around 157 km away from Jammu, the winter capital of J&K, Abid started playing cricket at a young age.
He would spend his entire days playing cricket in fields. “Most of the time, I wouldn’t even eat anything the entire day,” Abid remembered. His professional cricket journey began at the under-16 level.
“I was spotted by a local coach Shafat Malik. He helped me a lot and recommended me to appear in trials,” he said.
The road to professional lanes wasn’t so easy for Abid. He would travel for the entire day to reach Jammu for trials. Even after making it to the U-16 team in the first go, Abid was kept out for the next two years. He, however, kept working to improve his skills.
He later went on to represent J&K at U-19, U-22 and U-23 levels before making it to the senior team.
“I had to grind to make it to the senior team. I was only promoted once I finished the age-group levels,” Abid said.
In 2018, the then-J&K mentor Irfan Pathan saw him and suggested he should play at the higher level.
“Irfan bhai said if we give this boy a chance, he would serve J&K cricket for a long time,” Abid revealed.
Abid made his debut for J&K senior team in 2019 and has since been an important member across the three formats. His numbers and consistency in domestic cricket suggest that he could be the next big thing from J&K. Abid’s strength isn’t just his left-arm spin but he hits a long ball too.
Many who have seen him play say he is quite similar to Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Like Jadeja, Abid finishes his overs in no time and bowls wicket-to-wicket apart from hitting those massive sixes with the bat.
Abid might not be seen in the IPL 2023 but it hasn’t dented his hopes of playing for India.
“I want to finish as the best all-rounder in the domestic circuit this season and be the highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy, so that I get picked for Duleep Trophy and then for India ‘A’,” he remarked.
“Many play IPL but I want to end up playing India first. If I get an opportunity in Duleep Trophy or for India ‘A’, I will try my best to do well and make it to the Indian team,” Abid concluded.