Shakir Ahmad Sheikh: The Pogba from Downtown Srinagar waiting for an opportunity to shine

In the narrow, football-mad lanes of Downtown Srinagar, nicknames are rarely handed out without reason. For Shakir Ahmad Sheikh, the name “Pogba” was earned on the football field through power, personality and a habit of finding the net from distance.

Long before the nickname became familiar in Jammu and Kashmir’s football circles, Shakir was simply a boy from Razaey Kadal, often referred to as Rajouri Kadal, in the Shahr-e-Khas area of Downtown Srinagar, who was equally comfortable with a cricket ball and a football at his feet. His journey, however, was never mapped out as a straightforward route to professional football. It was a product of circumstance, and perhaps most importantly, the few opportunities that came his way.

“I never had an actual plan to become a professional footballer. It just happened with the flow,” Shakir recalls.

His story began in an environment where cricket naturally dominated the sporting landscape. Like countless youngsters across Kashmir, he spent his early years playing cricket and was good enough to dream of taking that route. But football gradually pulled him away.

The turning point came when a local coach, Fayyaz Ahmed, recognised something in him that Shakir himself had not yet fully understood.

“He told me, ‘You play football well, leave cricket. Maybe you will become a star one day.’ He guided me, and that was the starting point,” Shakir says.

It was the beginning of a journey that would take him from local football in Srinagar to the I-League, the Santosh Trophy and, eventually, a government job secured through the sports quota. But it was never an easy journey.

Shakir’s journey as a young footballer from Downtown Srinagar can be traced from the Gani Memorial Stadium and local football to J&K Bank Academy and the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC). His talent had been identified as early as his school years, and after initially being placed on a waiting list during JKSPDC trials, he eventually got his opportunity.

Eight years on, the boy described then as a promising talent is still chasing the same dream, only now with considerably more experience and a much clearer understanding of what stands between talent and a professional career.

From cricket to football

Shakir’s footballing education took shape at the local level. He played for Young Iqbal in the J&K First Division around 2015-16 before spending roughly two-and-a-half years at J&K Bank Academy. He later moved into semi-professional football with the JKSPDC before progressing towards the I-League Second Division and the I-League. His early career was marked by positional experimentation. He played as a striker, centre-back and winger before finding his natural home in midfield.

At J&K Bank Academy, that identity became clearer. “I am most comfortable in midfield as a number 8 or 10,” he says. “But coaches know I am versatile. I adapt to whatever the coach’s plan requires.”

That adaptability has remained one of his defining characteristics. During the Santosh Trophy, he was deployed on both wings, while at other times he has returned to the middle of the pitch. The versatility, though, has never taken away from the one quality that first made him stand out: his ability to strike the ball.

And that is where “Pogba” entered the story.

Why Pogba?

The nickname came during a local state league tournament, the Golden Cup. Shakir was playing as a No. 6 midfielder for DFA Srinagar against J&K Police in the 2015-2016 season. From the middle of the pitch, he repeatedly showed his ability to hit powerful shots and scored a goal from 35 yards.

A senior player named Faizan noticed the resemblance in his style to French World Cup winner Paul Pogba. “He told me I played like Paul Pogba and gave me the nickname. It stuck,” Shakir says with a smile.

It was not simply about the name. Pogba’s reputation as a powerful, technically gifted midfielder capable of influencing a game from deep made the comparison particularly fitting for a young Shakir, whose own game was beginning to develop around the same characteristics.

In Downtown Srinagar, the nickname became part of his identity. But behind the catchy moniker is a footballer who has spent years trying to overcome a much bigger problem: opportunity.

Talent without a pathway

Jammu and Kashmir has produced footballers of considerable quality. Abdul Majeed Kakroo, Ishfaq Ahmed and Mehrajuddin Wadoo are among the names that have demonstrated that players from the region can compete at the highest levels of Indian football. Yet for every player who manages to break through, there are many more whose careers stall before they reach a professional stage.

For Shakir, the biggest obstacle is not talent. It is continuity.

“The main problem is a lack of good, consistent tournaments. We aren’t getting enough opportunities,” he says.

His own experience is perhaps the strongest evidence. During his time with Real Kashmir, he says, his opportunities were limited, sometimes amounting to only 10 or 15 minutes in a game. “Recently, I joined FC1, where I am finally getting opportunities and coming into the limelight,” he says. FC1 made their debut in this edition of the Durand Cup, where they finished in their group with three points from a win and two losses. Shakir also scored in their 2-1 win against Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC.

That sentence captures the frustration of many footballers in the region. A player can train every day, perform well in local competitions and possess the ability to play at a higher level, but without regular competitive football, development becomes difficult.

Shakir believes young footballers need something more than short tournaments followed by long periods of uncertainty. “Boys play in a short tournament, get paid a little, and go home. If you play for two months, you shouldn’t have to take a break for two months without knowing when the next match will be.”

It is a simple argument, but an important one. Footballers cannot build professional careers on occasional opportunities.

Downtown’s football story

For Shakir, football also means something beyond his own career.

He grew up in Downtown Srinagar, an area where football has long been embedded in local sporting culture. His earlier journey began around the Gani Memorial Stadium, with local coaches and school football providing the foundations for his development. Today, he sees football as a vehicle that can give youngsters in the area purpose and direction.

Downtown Heroes FC, who had played in the 132nd and 133rd IndianOil Durand Cup, formed with the objective of engaging local youth and addressing social problems through football, is one such initiative.

“They are actively trying to engage the youth,” Shakir says. “We have a lot of talent, but again, the issue is opportunity.”

The Srinagar Premier League, he points out, gives players a platform, but often only for a short period.

“It’s a start, but we need more sustained engagement.”

For a player who has lived the consequences of limited opportunities, the demand is not theoretical. He knows exactly what a young footballer loses when competitions disappear from the calendar.

The job and the dream

There is an irony at the heart of Shakir’s journey. He now has something many aspiring footballers spend years searching for: security. He joined the Accountant General’s office in December 2021 as an Auditor through the sports quota. It provides him with a stable career and a safety net in an unpredictable sporting environment. But it has not diminished his ambition.

“I am constantly pushing myself. My goal is to play for I-League or ISL clubs. I have the right mentality and know I can perform there if given the opportunity.”

That last word, opportunity, returns repeatedly in Shakir’s story.

Still chasing India

For all the setbacks, Shakir’s ambitions have not become smaller. They have become clearer

“Every football player in the country dreams of playing for India, and that is my dream too,” he says.

There is no grand declaration behind those words, only the quiet determination of a player who understands how difficult the road is.

“I work hard every single day. I step out of the house, practise, and give my best for the shirt.”

That may be the most revealing part of Shakir’s story. The boy who once had to choose between cricket and football has grown into a footballer balancing a secure government job with an ambition that refuses to disappear. From Young Iqbal to J&K Bank Academy, from JKSPDC to the I-League, from limited minutes to new opportunities with FC1, the journey has been anything but linear.

The nickname “Pogba” may have started with a powerful shot from midfield and a passing resemblance to a famous footballer. But in Downtown Srinagar, it has come to represent something else: a player who kept going despite the lack of a clear pathway.

Shakir knows talent alone is not enough. He knows opportunities can change careers. And he is still waiting for the next one.

“I am taking it step by step, hoping to break into the Indian Football League again so people can see what I can do.”

For now, Pogba from Downtown is still chasing the next kick, the next tournament, the next chance, and perhaps, somewhere along that road, the dream of wearing India’s shirt.