BCCI president Mithun Manhas, joined by RoI skipper Rishabh Pant, rings the ceremonial bell at the start of Irani Cup match at Sher-I-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar, Thursday, 01, October 2026.
| Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR
When Mithun Manhas rang the bell to signal the start of play in the Irani Cup in Srinagar on Thursday (October 1, 2026), the significance of it was not just confined to his current position as BCCI president. The 49-year-old enjoys an intimacy with this region on multiple fronts: he was born in Jammu, concluded his long playing career by representing J&K for two seasons, and took his first steps as administrator in the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
It was during Manhas’ time in the JKCA subcommittee that Auqib Nabi began grabbing attention as a pace bowler of promise. If Manhas has been elevated to the BCCI top brass since then, Nabi’s ascent has seen him become the third cricketer from J&K to play for India.
After the opening day’s play in the Irani Cup, Manhas praised Nabi for his entry into the Indian set-up. “This definitely proves that you could be from anywhere. He is from Baramulla. If you look at his story, it is very inspiring. There are some other players who have not yet come to the forefront, but they have similar stories. If you are talented, hardworking and have passion, you can definitely play for the country,” Manhas told the media on Thursday.
Manhas did acknowledge the need for better infrastructure in the districts of J&K as well.
“When I was part of the subcommittee, we used to organise talent hunt programmes. Now, the need of the hour is to go further than that. We need to have grounds there. We used to get the talent to Srinagar or Jammu and then organise camps. It will take some time, but I think it’s on the right track. Hopefully, the JKCA has chalked out plans on how to make stadiums in Jammu, Kashmir and other adjoining districts as well. You’ll hopefully see that in a year or so,” he said.
Published – October 01, 2026 08:58 pm IST
