Baba Darya Ud Din Cricket Club, a small cricketing team in Kashmir has committed an act that may trigger a huge controversy in the country. A video has surfaced showing the players from the team, which is named after a popular saint whose shrine is situated in the locality, were seen wearing Pakistan jerseys and standing for the national anthem of Pakistan before the start of the match. The match was held at the Wayil grounds in Ganderbal on April 2.

InUth reports that the Pakistan National Anthem was played as a mark of respect prior to the start of the match. The commentator can be seen announcing it through the loudspeakers. The report also states that the venue at which the incident took place is located next to the local police station.

A player, when asked for the reason behind this controversial act, stated that they wore the jersey to look make their protest ‘appropriate’ and ‘catchy.’

“We wanted our team to look different and also wanted to show fellow Kashmiris that we haven’t forgotten Kashmir issue, so we found this particular theme as most appropriate and catchy,” InUth quoted a player as saying.

There have been protests ignited by the separatists against PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir for the Chenani-Nashri tunnel. The 10.89 km-long tunnel, which is located on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, was inaugurated a few days ago.

The all-weather tunnel, which took engineers six years to build, and the project cost 25 billion rupees, is expected to help travel on a highway linking the troubled Kashmir Valley with the rest of India. The highway regularly gets blocked for days due to heavy snow, monsoon rains and landslides.

Here is the video: