Irfan Pathan, the Jammu and Kashmir cricket mentor, Irfan Pathan confirmed on Monday (August 19) that BCCI has promised them help after the team was forced to pull out of a domestic tournament due to the communication crackdown in the state after Indian government decided to scrap Article 370.

“Hopefully, this won’t have an impact in the upcoming season. From what I have spoken to BCCI, they are ready to help in any way. They will help in taking any decision. It is quite possible things may return to normalcy and we may not need to move anywhere else,” Pathan said.

While talking about Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) pulling out of the upcoming Vizzy Trophy, the left-arm pacer said, “We (the Jammu and Kashmir team) are not going for the Vizzy Trophy. The ground reality is that we tried to send the boys to play the tournament as preparation is necessary (but could not make it).”

When asked about the preparation of the team, the 34-year-old bowling all-rounder said, “We did a camp from June 14 and we trained for a month. I had taken a trainer who was with the Indian team for the camp. Our coach has worked a lot and fitness levels had improved.”

“(But) when the matches started, we had to stop (training) as curfew was imposed and it was better to send back all the kids (players to their respective homes),” he added.

The Vizzy trophy is a pre-season preparation tournament. Restrictions have been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the Narendra Modi-led government revoked the special status given to the state.

(With PTI inputs)