Ek junoon hota hai: After a long wait, Lone Nasir has his moment of reckoning

If there was a way to announce himself, the 29-year-old couldn’t have done much better than pick three scalps on the opening day and follow it up with an entertaining 64 off 58 balls. Not for much longer will he have to wear a shirt with Vivrant Sharma’s name masked on his back.

Updated : Oct 02, 2026 21:59 IST , Srinagar - 5 MINS READ

Lone Nasir smacked 64 off 58 balls to take Jammu & Kashmir out of trouble against Rest of India in Irani Cup 2026. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR

In three previous First Class appearances for Jammu & Kashmir, Lone Nasir hadn’t claimed a wicket. He had scored all of 115 runs, his best being a knock of 44. His selection, therefore, for the Irani Cup fixture against Rest of India was unexpected. So much so that J&K didn’t have a jersey adorning his name and number in place for the game.

If there was a way to announce himself, the 29-year-old couldn’t have done much better than pick three scalps on the opening day and follow it up with an entertaining 64 off 58 balls. Not for much longer will he have to wear a shirt with Vivrant Sharma’s name masked on his back.

“My selection was at the last minute. It was unexpected. I wasn’t sure I would be picked even though I had done well in the trial games,” Nasir said at the close of day two.

Nasir’s all-round show has put J&K in a strong position. When he came in to bat at No. 10, the host was teetering on the abyss at 166 for eight. But his 64-run stand with skipper Paras Dogra turned things around. “Such situations are not new to me. I have taken the J&K Under-23 team out of such situations many times. The belief was there,” asserted Nasir, a wide grin lighting up his bearded visage.

Of the shots that Nasir unfurled to the unbridled delight of a partisan crowd on Friday, the pull stood out for the ferocity with which the ball pinged off the bat.

“We play white-ball cricket a lot. So the short ball doesn’t trouble me. I am strong in that zone,” he stated.

The J&K seam-bowling all-rounder has had to bide his time for his moment of reckoning. Even after making his debut in the Ranji Trophy in January 2024, opportunities weren’t forthcoming. The pace attack is the team’s strong suit, leaving little room for a newcomer to force his way in. Even for this outing, it is unlikely that Nasir would have found a starting spot if either Auqib Nabi or Yudhvir Singh had been available. The fact that Nasir had gone wicketless in his three games meant he couldn’t really dispute the pecking order.

It made his dismissal of Sudip Gharami in Thursday’s morning session a tad more memorable than say those of Shikhar Mohan and R. Smaran later in the day. “I had been waiting for a wicket since my debut,” he stated. “This was a very special moment. A game against Rest of India is big. To take my first wicket here is very special. These are memories for a lifetime.”

Ask Nasir about the limited opportunities so far and his pragmatic response illustrates a measured head on his shoulders.

Lone Nasir had also picked three Rest of India wickets in the first innings. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR

“Selection is not in our hands. Wherever we play, we always hope to do well. You sometimes fit into the composition of the team and sometimes don’t,” he felt. “I played white-ball cricket last season, but wasn’t there in the Ranji team. Auqib and Yudhvir were there.”

A game of patience has transpired for even longer in his search for an IPL contract. Following an association with Sunrisers Hyderabad as a net bowler when the IPL was taken to the United Arab Emirates in 2020, he has been giving trials for as many as five years. “I hope that I do well in white-ball cricket in the domestic tournaments (this season) and get in. I feel I have a shot (in the IPL) because I am an all-rounder,” he said.

Owing to the circumstances in this region, he has had to grind his way to even reach this far. When he began playing in his hometown of Bandipore, approximately 50 kilometres from Srinagar, in 2014, there were no turf wickets at the then 17-year-old’s local club.

“In order to train and have better facilities, I would travel to Srinagar three times a week. It used to take one-and-a-half hours by road.”

Unlike today, nor were there too many role models from the region to look up to. Junoon (passion), as Nasir puts it, kept him going. As did the unwavering support of his father, a former school teacher, whose only condition was for Nasir to simultaneously focus on his education. He has a Bachelor of Science (Bsc) degree as a result.

“ Ek junoon hota hai (There is passion). Whenever someone starts to play sport, they know how capable they are,” he elaborated. “When I gave trials and saw other boys play, I felt that I belong here. And then, I started working harder and became better. That is the reason you are seeing me here. Otherwise, I may have faded away after a year. I pushed myself more because I felt I had it in me.”