Rasikh Salam Dar (Image Credit: BCCI/IPL)

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Seven years ago, around this 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 Rasikh Salam Dar, his cousin and with whom he had trained since the age of eight.“It was the darkest day of my life. I remember him saying, ‘It’s all over, brother.’ Before I could ask what exactly had happened, he started crying,” Nadeem told TimesofIndia.com. Rasikh was banned for two years in 2019 after a discrepancy involving the submission of a faulty birth certificate to the BCCI. The ban ruled him out of contention for the 2020 Under-19 World Cup and also closed the doors to a comeback in Jammu and Kashmir cricket. After facing three rejections in the under-19 trials, Rasikh was selected ahead of the 2018 season when Irfan Pathan joined Jammu and Kashmir as a mentor.“In six months, he went on to play Under-19, Under-23, Ranji Trophy and IPL. Then one day we came to know about the ban,” he said.Nadeem said, “It was not even his fault. I don’t want to talk about it because it is a very happy moment. He played a very important role in RCB getting the title. We remember it as a nightmare.”Nadeem, who grew up in Khandipora, a village located in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, introduced Rasikh to cricket.This journey started with a tennis ball and it was here that Rasikh 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 earned fame 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 just need a cement wicket and even if the outfield is wet and soggy, it doesn’t matter. The back-of-the-hand slower that everyone is praising now, he learned it at the age of 14. His slowers are very difficult to pick. Even then he was difficult to pick. With Bhuvneshwar in the last few seasons (Kumar), he has also added the knuckleball to his armoury. “Without a doubt, he’s a fast learner,” Nadeem said of his brother.After completing his two-year ban and relocating to Mumbai, Rasikh suffered a lower back stress injury, which kept him out for an even longer period.“For four years he didn’t play any competitive cricket. First the ban, then the injury, but he never lost hope. He never said he wanted to quit cricket. It’s not in his blood to give up,” Rasikh’s childhood friend Mir Mortaza told this website in Dharamshala ahead of Qualifier 1.“He is very introverted. On the outside, everyone thinks he is a soft-spoken person, but inside he is very tough. 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 would often pull his leg for not being active on social media like other cricketers or living a simple, normal life, and he is just one The thing used to say: ‘All these things can wait.’ I want to play for India, that’s the ultimate dream,” Mortaza shared.When RCB picked up Rasikh for Rs 6 crore ahead of IPL 2025, some eyebrows were raised. He played only two matches and had only one 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 I could. I continued to bowl because that’s the only thing I know and, by the grace of God, I got the desired results,” 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 for 27.“They (Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood) made my job easy. Throughout the tournament, they gave us great starts and that made my job easier. Full credit to them. I was lucky to share the dressing room with them. I have learned a lot and I can’t wait to come back next year,” Dar said confidently.but captain Rajat Patidar The 26-year-old was praised for his contributions throughout the season.“The way Rasikh has come in and performed for the team and brought success is important because you can’t win a competition or a match with just one or two bowlers,” Patidar told reporters on the eve of the final.

After the final, Patidar again praised Dar profusely.“He is very confident about his skills, his slower balls, back-of-the-hand balls and especially his yorkers. I think he supported Bhuvi and Hazlewood well. Again, it is clear that whenever I see him, he has clarity about his role and what he has to do. I always tell my bowlers that if you have something, if you have a plan, go and execute it.”For Rasikh, the aim is just to continue the process, stay fit and keep doing what he loves, running up and bowling for hours on end.“When I have the ball in my hands that’s the happiest thing for me. It’s been a long season.” I can’t wait to go home and meet my parents. I would like to dedicate this trophy to my father Abdul Salam, who always encouraged me to pursue my love for the game. Abbu ne kabhi yeh kahna ki kyun waqt bavaad kar rahe ho (My father never told me that I was wasting my time playing cricket). An emotional Rasikh said, he stood with me like a pillar in every happiness and sorrow.India are set to play around 45 T20Is over the next two years and it is unknown what the future holds for Rasikh. But with his wicket-taking ability in the middle overs, he has definitely knocked the doors of the national team. If he stays fit and continues to do what he loves, the blue jersey will not be far away for the ‘Lion of Khandipora’ (Lion), a nickname he has earned from his teammates.