Srinagar: In Kashmir where life stops for cricket, a cricket match was stopped to save lives.
On Sunday, a quarter-final match between PCC Pinjura and Rising Star Heer had entered a nail-biting stage in Tangmarg. Both the teams had their best players in the squad to enter the semi-finals.
The incident occurred when a house in the vicinity caught fire during the match. Cricketers stopped the game and joined the rescue efforts.
“We heard loud screams of people. Actually, the house of one of the players, Rishi Reyaz had caught fire and the lives of family members were in danger. All the players stopped the game and performed their duty to save the lives of their families,” said Nazir Ahmad, a local spectator.
As per locals, many cricketers got injured while dousing the flames. “They endangered their lives and succeeded in dousing the fire. Till fire tenders reached the spot, these cricketers fetched water in containers to douse the flames,” Ahmad said.
Rishi Reyaz hailed his team members for saving lives and controlling the fire. “My family was struggling to douse the fire. It was due to the efforts of my fellow cricketers, the fire was brought under control. My house suffered damages, but luckily family was saved,” he said.
Later the cricketers decided to help the affected family through crowdfunding. “We have appealed to the people as well as the administration to help the family. There were four brothers living in the house. They lost everything in the fire accident. As responsible citizens, it is our duty to help the affected family,” said the local cricketers.
