He dismissed KL Rahul and Karun Nair in the Ranji Trophy final.
In Sports, at times there comes a player who keeps performing at a level where they simply force the fraternity to take notice. One of those players is Auqib Nabi, the Jammu and Kashmir star, whose rise has been undeniable. He has left no stone unturned to achieve his dreams. Given his form over the last two years, it is high time he gets the India Test call-up.
On Friday, he registered a five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final to put his side on top against the domestic giants Karnataka. His dismissals included KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Ravichandran Smaran, and Mayank Agarwal. And the fact that this performance came on a pitch where Jammu and Kashmir piled on 584 in their first innings makes it all the more special.
The 28-year-old is known as the ‘Baramulla Express’ in the cricket fraternity. The right-arm seamer was introduced to the sport via tennis ball matches in Baramulla. Transforming from tennis ball cricket to season ball wasn’t easy for him due to a lack of infrastructure.
Auqib Nabi took his time to develop his game, to understand his strengths and weaknesses. Once he did that, he hasn’t looked back. He has been by far the best pacer in domestic red-ball cricket in the last two editions.
𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧 🤩
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 27, 2026
🎥 𝙍𝙖𝙬 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 from the middle as Auqib Nabi bags his 7th fifer to reach 60 wickets for the season 👏
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/G0ytZLEyNB#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/DXzNRLEkZp
In 2024-25, Nabi snared 44 wickets in the season. This season, he is leading the bowling chart with 60 scalps from 17 innings with a five-wicket haul in seven of those. Nabi has played 17 First Class matches since 2024, and has taken 111 wickets at an incredible average of 13.4. He has recorded 14 five-fors in this period. If a player doesn’t get a national call-up after these numbers, then that would be a travesty.
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There was a time from 2017-2022, where India arguably had the best pace attack in the world. But with the exits of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami struggling with injuries, they have had to try different options. Currently India’s Test bowling stocks do not look great.
They have Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. But apart from them, there isn’t anyone who can be relied upon. Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna are among the top contenders but they don’t inspire confidence.
In an era where India have struggled to field pacers who can provide control, Auqib Nabi is just the guy they need. He has the ability to swing the ball both ways, and prioritises accuracy over pace. He can reverse swing, has a high-arm and a repeatable smooth action. Not to mention, he is more than handy with the bat down the order. In short, Nabi is a complete package that India needs.
His hard work is just starting to get the rewards. He will be playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the first time after Delhi Capitals acquired him in the IPL 2026 auction for INR 8.4 crore. The next step would be to get to don the India jersey.
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