{"id":7651,"date":"2025-12-22T18:22:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T18:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=7651"},"modified":"2025-12-22T18:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T18:59:14","slug":"aru-valleys-aamina-dreams-of-cricket-stardom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/aru-valleys-aamina-dreams-of-cricket-stardom\/","title":{"rendered":"Aru Valley\u2019s Aamina dreams of cricket stardom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Cricketer Smriti Mandhana says \u2018I\u2019m cheering for you\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anantnag, Dec 22: In the serene meadows of Aru Valley in Pahalgam, where snow-clad peaks meet gurgling mountain streams, a small girl\u2019s big dream has struck a chord across the country.<\/p>\n<p>According to the details collected by the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Aamina, a 3rd standard girl from the picturesque hamlet of Aru Valley in South Kashmir, dreams of becoming a cricketer one day\u2014and her inspiration is none other than Indian women\u2019s cricket star Smriti Mandhana.<\/p>\n<p>The heartwarming moment came to light after renowned film director Kabir Khan shared a post on social media, capturing the innocence, hope and raw passion for cricket that thrives even in Kashmir\u2019s remote corners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWalking with my camera in Kashmir always rewards me with magical moments,\u201d Kabir wrote. \u201cLike this little girl in Aru who wanted me to tell @smriti_mandhana that she is her favourite player. I hope Smriti gets to see this post. Or the boys whose playground has a mountain stream as the boundary. If you hit a six, the ball will flow all the way down the valley into the Jhelum river.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post quickly gained attention for its vivid imagery and emotional depth, highlighting how sport\u2014especially cricket\u2014has become a powerful dream for children even in far-flung regions with minimal facilities. In Aru, children often play cricket on uneven grounds, surrounded by mountains, with nature itself becoming part of the game.<\/p>\n<p>What made the moment even more special was Smriti Mandhana\u2019s warm and encouraging response. The Indian cricketer replied to the post, saying: \u201cPlease give the little champ in Aru a big hug from me and tell her I\u2019m cheering for her too!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mandhana\u2019s words instantly turned Aamina\u2019s quiet dream into a moment of national recognition. For many in Kashmir, especially young girls, the response symbolized hope, representation and the belief that dreams are valid regardless of geography or circumstance.<\/p>\n<p>Locals say children in Aru Valley grow up amid breathtaking beauty but limited opportunities. Despite the lack of proper playgrounds, coaching facilities or equipment, their love for cricket remains undeterred. \u201cOur children play wherever they can\u2014fields, roads, even near streams,\u201d said a local resident. \u201cThey watch matches on mobile phones and dream big.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aamina\u2019s story has resonated widely on social media, with users praising Mandhana for her humility and encouragement, and calling for greater support for sports infrastructure in rural and remote areas of Kashmir. (KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cricketer Smriti Mandhana says \u2018I\u2019m cheering for you\u2019 Anantnag, Dec 22: In the serene meadows of Aru Valley in Pahalgam, where snow-clad peaks meet gurgling mountain streams, a small girl\u2019s big dream has struck a chord across the country. According to the details collected by the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Aamina, a 3rd standard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","category-kt-front"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7653,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7651\/revisions\/7653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}