India, Sept. 30 -- Once upon a time, Srinagar did not need much selling. A month or two before the West Indies arrived in October 1983 for the first-ever international match in Kashmir, anticipation was at its peak.

Tickets were sought after, conversations revolved around the visiting stars and the prospect of watching Kapil Dev's World Cup-winning India take on Clive Lloyd's West Indies or Allan Border's Australia. As Srinagar gets ready to host a major cricket fixture - the Irani Cup on October 1 - much has changed.

On match day, the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium used to be overflowing. "The atmosphere was electrifying. You cannot imagine the atmosphere we had here," former J&K cricketer and selector Sayyed Parvez Qaiser told HT. "There were...