India’s next Test pacer? The searing rise of Auqib Nabi in Ranji Trophy

Can you swing the ball both ways? Can you pick a bucket-load of wickets through the season? Can you reproduce that wicket-taking ability even on docile tracks? Can you lead the bowling attack through the crunch knockout rounds? There is no question that Auqib Nabi has not answered in the affirmative this season.

The 29-year-old led the way for Jammu and Kashmir as the side wrote its name into the Ranji Trophy roll of champions for the first time in its history. Sixty wickets in 10 matches at an average of just 12.56 — Nabi’s contributions have fuelled conversations about a national team call-up. And rightly so.

It hasn’t been a one-season-wonder performance. Nabi picked 44 wickets in eight matches in the previous edition of the tournament to finish joint-second in the wicket-taking charts. J&K missed out on a place in the semifinal by a solitary run that year. Across the last two editions, he has claimed 13 five-wicket hauls, showing his propensity to run through opposition batting orders with utter disdain.

Nabi’s rise to the top has come through an unfancied route, playing tennis-ball cricket well into his teens in Baramulla before making the switch to professional cricket. After his senior red-ball debut in 2019/20, Nabi was in and out of the J&K team until a couple of years ago, when he found an extra gear in his bowling.

Speaking to  Sportstar , Nabi explained that he struggled to get a grip on his swing, often losing the ability to move the ball one way while trying to pursue the other. His control over his craft has come after years of grafting away on the practice pitch.

With the ability to move the ball both ways, Nabi was always going to be a menace to batters in the domestic circuit with the new red cherry in hand. But the real differentiator has been his ability to hit the right lengths with the old ball too, denying batters the chance to tilt the game back in their favour.

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In the Ranji Trophy final in Hubbali, it was this knack for holding a nagging length that helped Nabi remove Karun Nair and R. Smaran — arguably Karnataka’s two best batters this season — without troubling the scorers. The pair of wickets with a 17-over-old ball proved to be the game-changing phase, putting the lesser-fancied J&K in the driver’s seat against the eight-time champion.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association has been a key facilitator in Nabi and the team’s exponential growth over the last couple of seasons. “The rhythm has been there right from the first match this season. Playing many practice matches helped. Apart from playing a few matches at home, we have also travelled to compete in tournaments like the Buchi Babu Trophy. Ranji Trophy doesn’t feel like a step above after playing these games,” the medium pacer had said in the earlier chat. 

This experience of playing on diverse pitches has helped him get accustomed to non-native surfaces more quickly. J&K won its final three knockout encounters away from home en route to lifting the Ranji Trophy title, with Nabi picking up a five-wicket haul in each game.

Nabi’s tally of 60 wickets in 2025/26 is the third-most by a pacer in the premier domestic tournament’s history, behind Jaydev Unadkat’s 67 (2019/20) and Dodda Ganesh’s 62 (1998/99). Ganesh did not add to his four Test caps despite a dominant season, but believes Nabi deserves a place in the Indian team. “[Nabi showed] bowlers are also capable of winning you titles. He has shown his character. He deserves to play for India. When a player gives performances like this, they should play for the country. He can bat too. He is a good prospect,” the former Karnataka pacer said.

There has been enough evidence through the recently concluded season to suggest that Nabi is ready to perform under pressure. He also displayed his ability with the willow during a Vijay Hazare Trophy encounter against Hyderabad, scoring a scintillating hundred coming in at number eight to take his side past the finish line.

With Afghanistan playing a one-off Test against India in New Chandigarh in June, there is an opportunity to reward Nabi’s domestic performances with a Test cap. The tour of Sri Lanka later in the year, where pitches have traditionally favoured tweakers, could also open the door for the inclusion of a pacer who can bat.

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If the selectors are convinced, he might even find himself on the plane to England for the white-ball tour. With the medium pacer at the peak of his powers after a stellar campaign, the time appears ripe for the selectors to give him a chance in the unyielding cauldron of international cricket.

Published on Mar 11, 2026