By BASHARAT RASHID
AWANTIPORA: Located in Sail village of Awantipora, the Sail cricket stadium is considered as South Kashmir’s oldest stadium. It is situated in beautiful surroundings near Chersoo. Despite the stadium being 2 kms away from Srinagar—Jammu National Highway, it continues to face official neglect as no construction work is being carried out to renovate it.
According to locals, the stadium has produced a lot of sports talent. One of them is the renowned sports personality Parvez Rasool, who not only plays in IPL, but also plays international cricket.
Many games including Cricket and Volley Ball are played in this stadium. The land around is vast with mesmerizing agricultural fields; however, lack of fencing and presence of deadly Poplar trees pose threat to the players who play there. Renovation would involve fencing, filling up potholes, etc. Another well-known cricketer told INS that thousands of players from South Kashmir have learned cricket there and moved ahead with their sports career. The players have personally requested higher authorities to take immediate steps and renovate said stadium.
When contacted, District Sports Officer Pulwama, Noor Ul Haq, told INS that, “Players should have reported their grievances before district administration particularly DC Pulwama.” He also said, “Once we will receive any grievance, further steps will be taken accordingly.”
(Copy edited by Zia Darakshan)
