Anantnag: There are some moments you just feel in your bones. Sunday at Anantnag Sports Stadium was one of them.
Maharaj Krishan walked onto the ground for the first time since 1989, wearing the same Lions Club colours he last wore in 1988. The second people saw him, everything stopped. Fans, old teammates, neighbours — they all rushed forward. Some hugged him so tightly it looked like they never wanted to let go. Others just stood there with tears rolling down their faces. No one was ashamed of crying. After 37 long years, one of their own had finally come home.
It was the Golden Jubilee Legends Match organised by Tiger Sports — Tiger Club against Lions Club — and it brought back a whole generation of local cricket heroes. Standing alongside Maharaj Krishan were men who had also been missing from this ground for decades: Nisar Ahmad Mir, Sanjay Saraf, Lateef Mir, Ejaj Ahmad, Wali Mohd Zargar, Ghulam Rasool, Gowhar Ahmad Mir and Muzaffar Ahmad Khan. For many of them, this was the first time they had stepped onto this pitch since the late 1980s.
You could see it on their faces. The joy of pulling on the whites again. The quiet emotion of meeting old friends after so many years. The stadium felt different that afternoon — lighter, warmer, full of stories that had been waiting to be told.
Videos circulating on social media show people reaching out just to touch Maharaj Krishan’s hand, some openly weeping as they hugged him. One elderly man kept saying, “We never thought we would see this day.” Others simply smiled through their tears.
For the players themselves, the day meant even more. Many later said it felt like their youth had returned for a few hours. They thanked Tiger Sports for not forgetting the seniors who once made Anantnag cricket proud.
In the end, the score didn’t matter much. What people will remember is the way a whole community opened its arms to men who had been away too long. On Sunday, Anantnag Stadium wasn’t just a cricket ground. It was home.
