A lot of the emerging pace talent for India is expected to come out from Jammu & Kashmir.
Speaking about a right-arm fast bowler from Jammu & Kashmir, there is just one name which comes to the mind – Auqib Nabi. The pacer has been displaying some terrific skills in the recent past, and is one of the favourites to get picked at the IPL 2026 auction. However, there are two other options from the same domestic side, which teams like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are expected to target in the lead up to the 19th Indian Premier League (IPL) edition.
Waseem Bashir and Atif Mushtaq are two speedsters from Jammu & Kashmir, who might end up getting a handsome bid in the IPL 2026 auction. Bashir is a 22-year-old right-arm pacer who is a part of the Jammu & Kashmir U25 side, and has been rattling batters with some raw pace. The speedster can go up to a speed of 145kmph, and has even clocked 150kmph on some occasions.
The other bowler, who hails from the same region is Atif Mushtaq. One of his great strengths is that he has a natural inswinger, which troubles that batters with his sharp cut. That being said, Mushtaq can also bowl at an express pace of 140kmph, and possesses a clean run-up in his lead-up to the popping crease. For some time now, he has been impressing spectators at the domestic level.
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Three-time IPL winning champions KKR are probably in a position to acquire the services of any player they want. The franchise has a purse of INR 64.03 Crore, which is the highest amongst all 10 franchises at the auction table. However, they have a lot of holes to fill in the lead-up to the IPL 2026 auction and one of those could be some pacers in the form of the two Jammu & Kashmir speedsters.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side has the services of only Harshit Rana, Umran Malik and Vaibhav Arora currently, and will like to double down on their fast bowling prospects. With that out of the way, the franchise would like to have a crack at Waseem and Mushtaq as their back-up pacers. Both the players are very young, and can be built into robust prospects over a period of time.
As compared to the three-time IPL champions, LSG have a quite balanced side in terms of their fast bowling prowess. The franchise has brought in Mohammed Shami into the side, who has heaps of experience with white-ball cricket. Moreover, they do have the likes of Mayank Yadav, Akash Singh, Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan for the pacer role. Once again, the question for a back-up would arise.
Therefore, both the bowlers from Jammu & Kashmir are serious prospects for the future, and franchises will surely be watching them from close quarters. Additionally, Jammu & Kashmir is quickly becoming the hub of all pace bowling in India. With Auqib Nabi leading the charts, it would be pleasing to watch the two talents emerging from the same domestic side.
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