SRINAGAR: Danish Farooq can never forget the day he was detained by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos on his way to a practice session at the TRC Turf Ground in Srinagar.He was let off only after a senior officer vouched for him, explaining that he had been a member of the Jammu & Kashmir Santosh Trophy team."That day is still etched in my mind. Thankfully, the senior officer knew about Santosh Trophy and that I had represented J&K in it," says the 22-year-old from Eidgah area in old Srinagar city.Its's not just looks or hairstyle, but even the dribbling skills and goal-scoring abilities of Danish, who is over 6 feet tall, have earned him the sobriquet of ' Kashmiri Ronaldo ' from fellow players and the state's football aficionados.Whenever Danish, an attacking midfielder, has a ball at his feet, he displays his ‘Cristiano skills’ — dribbling in the style of his idol Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo . “My teammates love my dribbling abilities and they address them as Cristiano skills,” explains Danish, with a glint in his eyes.Real Kashmir FC will be making their debut in I-League top division in the forthcoming season and Danish is more or less the engine on which Real Kashmir functions — with four strikes, he was the joint highest goal-scorer in the second division — and also had the most number of assists to his name.It’s a huge struggle for Danish and his fellow players to find time for quality practice sessions due to ubiquitous shutdowns, strikes and curfews in the Kashmir Valley. “Delhi mein jaise jam hota hai, waise hi humare yahan curfew hota hai (Just like Delhi has traffic jams, Srinagar has curfews),” says Danish, bursting into laughter.“It is not only difficult for footballers here, but for a person of any profession. We take different routes whenever there is a curfew in place. By now, we know which routes to take to reach the ground during a curfew. We reach the ground some way or the other, but we don’t miss a practice session,” says Danish.In the forthcoming I-League season, Danish hopes to show there is more to Kashmir than violence. “We want to leave a big impression through the brand of football that we play. We want to show that there is more to Kashmir than guns and bombs. Logon ko batana chahte hai ki hum bhi acche insaan hai (We want to tell them we are also good human beings). We have been portrayed wrongly over the years and that needs to change. Playing for Real Kashmir in the I-League is a massive opportunity for us.”His father, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, used to play football for Mohammedan Sporting in Kolkata in his heyday. Talking about his football lineage, Danish says, “Football is in my blood. We have had a good footballing culture in our family. I imitated my father and started playing from childhood. I was selected in J&K Bank football academy at the age of 13. Then I played for the bank team and became their captain. After that I played for Lonestar Kashmir FC and from late 2016 I started playing for Real Kashmir.”Danish feels football, a hugely popular sport in Kashmir, is helping youngsters join the mainstream. “Young players are given a platform and their parents are also told that football is a viable career option and that has helped getting the youth into the mainstream.”

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