Parvez Rasool: First Jammu and Kashmir cricketer on India squad

Cricketer Parvez Rasool has come a long way.

In 2009, Rasool was briefly detained for his alleged link to a terror plot near Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium. Police believed Rasool, days before a match, had carried explosives, a claim that proved false.

“It was a nightmare, but we have left it behind. We are looking at the future,” said Abdul Qayoom, Rasool’s coach.

Indeed, the future looks bright for Rasool, 24, who on Friday became the first Jammu and Kashmir player selected for India's 15-member national cricket team for its upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.

"I am very happy that my name has been included in the Indian team. I did a lot of hard work this season, performed well in the domestic cricket where I took 33 wickets and scored 594 runs. I also did well against Australia, so I was expecting a call up for the Zimbabwe tour," Rasool told reporters in India.

Jammu and Kashmi chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted his congratulations: 

The northern sate of Jammu and Kashmir has a troubled history of violence that has yet to be resolved, with India and Pakistan both claiming territory in the Kashmir region. The two nations have fought two of their three wars over the area.