From Kashmir’s Hills to IPL: Rasikh Salam Dar’s Story of Grit

Rasikh Salam Dar's rise to the IPL has been built on persistence, with the fast bowler overcoming early challenges in Jammu & Kashmir and long periods away from the game on his way to RCB.

That resilience has already been evident on the field this season.

Playing his first game of the season at the Wankhede Stadium, Rasikh returned with figures of 1/23, making an immediate impact.

He was handed a crucial over at a crucial stage of the game, but things quickly became physically challenging.

"When I came on to bowl, I got a cramp, something I had never experienced before," Rasikh said, as per a press release from RCB.

"After almost every ball, I was cramping. I was falling over while delivering, and I couldn't even bend properly," he added.

Despite the pain, he pushed through. "My only thought was that I had to complete the over. If I could do that, the team would be in a better position."

What shaped Rasikh Salam Dar’s resilience growing up in Jammu and Kashmir?

In the very next game, he built on that effort with a four-wicket haul against Lucknow Super Giants.

"There is a character in him," said Omkar Salvi, Assistant Coach, RCB.

When Rasikh first began taking cricket seriously, belief around him was limited. "When I started playing professionally, my family and relatives used to say that no one can take cricket as a profession because very few people were playing from our region," he recalled.

"But my mother always believed in me. Since childhood, she used to say that my son would become a cricketer,” he added.

His early steps into cricket came with challenges. Living nearly 70 to 80 kilometres away from Srinagar, even reaching trials was an effort.

What makes Rasikh Salam Dar a unique and competitive T20 bowler?

"When I first went for the Under-19 trials, I didn't even know the process properly. I wasn't selected that year. The next year, when I went again, Irfan Pathan was there. After watching me bowl a few deliveries, he stopped me and started guiding me. That's when I felt that maybe he saw something in me,” Rasikh said.

While playing for his state, Salvi quickly noticed what set Rasikh apart.

"The first thing I saw was that he was competitive. At the same time, he was creative in his approach. Apart from swinging the ball both ways, he had a slower one and a different perspective on how to approach T20 cricket,” Salvi said.

But just as his career began to move forward, it came to a halt. Rasikh spent nearly two years away from competitive cricket between 2019 and 2021.

When he returned, more challenges followed. After being picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders, injuries disrupted his progress once again.

"I got a back injury after playing two matches. Then I got injured again during recovery. At that time, I realised I shouldn't rush. I had to follow the process, no matter how long it took,” Rasikh said.

What has Rasikh Salam Dar learned from players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar?

At the 2024 mega-auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru showed faith in Rasikh's potential, securing his services for Rs 6 crore.

Rasikh said that joining the side was a huge opportunity to learn. "Working with players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, I used to ask a lot of questions, why he bowled a certain delivery at a certain time. I just wanted to learn,” he added.

The effort behind the scenes was evident to those around him.

"He always kept working hard for himself. He was always trying to learn from every game he watched while sitting out. And then he had his own opinions, which we used to discuss later after the game during practice. With Rasikh, he has the ability to move the ball both ways," said Omkar Salvi.

For Rasikh, the journey is far from complete.

"I didn't start playing cricket thinking about the IPL or India. I had no idea where this journey would take me. But now, my goal is to play for India across formats, in any format,” he said.

(With inputs from ANI)