Called ‘Gavaskar’ by family and ‘Guptill’ by friends, Kashmiri cricketer who was shot dead had played alongside Suresh Raina

Nayeem's elder brother Zahoor said that his friends called him Martin Guptill while his father Ghulam Qadir called him 'the Gavaskar of Kashmir.'

When the tragic news broke out, Nayeem’s mother urged a group of mourners, “His father is with his body in the police station. Can you please tell him to bring my Gavaskar back?”

Yes, he was ‘Gavaskar’ to his family and friends called him ‘Guptill.’ Naeem Bhat, 19, was killed on Tuesday afternoon along with two other civilians after a firing by security forces in the volatile Karshir town of Handwara after the news spread of an alleged molestation on a girl student by an army man. MORE: When India-West Indies ICC World T20 2016 semi-final clash caused student unrest in Kashmir

Fondly called ‘Nanha’ (little one) Bhat as he was the youngest of the seven siblings, Nayeem had received several awards in cricket and had participated in Kashmir’s Cricket League (KCL).

His brother, Zahoor, a journalist, spoke to IANS. He said, “Nanha had been to a nearby jungle to get his photo-shoot done. He asked his friends to click only his photographs with his DSLR.”

Hoping to be an international cricketer, the “most loved and pampered boy of the family” thought he was rehearsing for what was to come and little did he know that it would be his last photo-shoot.

Nayeem passed his 10+2 with 80 percent marks and was due to leave for Dehradun on April 16 for further studies. He went for the photo shoot, as he would miss his homeland. After returning from the hike with his friends, he went to buy vegetables in the market where the protests erupted. The teenager was not involved in the protest. When he was shot, he still had the grocery bag clutched in his hands.

Zahoor said that Nayeem’s friends called him Martin Guptill while his father Ghulam Qadir called him ‘the Gavaskar of Kashmir.

Zahoor said his friends called him Martin Guptill, after the cricketer from New Zealand, but their father, Ghulam Qadir called him “the Gavaskar of Kashmir” for his calm cricketing demeanour.

“He was so happy to have batted once alongside Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Parveez Rasool. He was our hope. We have lost everything,” added Zahoor.

The family expectedly is in shock. The tensions in Kashmir continue and here is another grieving family who have lost all their hopes with no fault of theirs.

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