For decades, Kashmir has been discussed in the vocabulary of conflict, security and politics. That is understandable given the region’s history. But it is also incomplete. Kashmir is home to millions of lives that cannot be reduced to the headlines generated by violence or political confrontation. The emergence of Auqib Nabi offers a useful reminder of that other Kashmir ~ ambitious, competitive and determined to be judged by achievement rather than circumstance.

Nabi’s selection for India’s Test squad is significant not simply because a cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir has reached the national level. It matters because elite sport is one of the clearest ways in which an individual can cross boundaries that politics often finds difficult to bridge. A place frequently viewed through the prism of exceptionalism has produced someone who is being measured by the same unforgiving standards as every other Indian cricketer. That achievement should not, however, be romanticised into a simple story of talent triumphing over adversity. Nabi’s journey also exposes the institutional deficit that talented youngsters in the region have had to confront. Long winters, inadequate facilities and limited access to quality coaching cannot be overcome indefinitely........

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