India, Feb. 28 -- Jammu & Kashmir's maiden Ranji Trophy triumph has brought overdue attention to a figure who worked largely away from the spotlight while the team was being rebuilt: Mithun Manhas. The discussion around his role is not simply about post-title visibility or ceremonial association. It is about whether he helped shape the cricketing conditions that made this rise possible. On the available evidence, the answer is yes - and in a substantial way.

The strongest case for Manhas's role lies in the kind of changes linked to him: structural, specific and directly connected to first-class cricket performance. This was not a symbolic position. During the JKCA rebuilding phase, when he worked within the BCCI-backed administrative set...