Over the last decade, Jammu and Kashmir have been producing plenty of talented cricketers. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan had spoken highly of the state's prospects during his stint with the domestic team. While Parvez Rasool remained the only J&K player to play for India, talent has continued to blossom with fast bowler Umran Malik making waves in his maiden IPL season for clocking over 155kph.
Auqib Nabi - one of the best from Jammu & Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/6jJqHnwEd0
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 11, 2025
Malik has faded away a bit although the cricketing circuit in India expects him to bounce back soon. Meanwhile, another star is in the making from J&K - Auqib Nabi. The 29-year-old fast bowler is a late bloomer but has been on fire in domestic cricket over the last few years.
On Tuesday (November 11), Jammu and Kashmir recorded their first-ever Ranji Trophy win over Delhi with Nabi's five-wicket haul in the second innings being the star act. While the result may have come as a surprise to many, J&K have been making steady progress in recent times.
In the 2024-25 season, J&K made it to the quarterfinals, surprising everyone as they were pitted in a tough group. Nabi was the standout performer for them with 44 wickets that also included a hat-trick. He was the second highest wicket taker last season and had more wickets than any other fast bowler. That the wickets came at a freak average of 13 and strike rate of 30.47 makes it all the more incredible.
Nabi has serious pace, clocking 140kph or above consistently and has a phenomenal ability to swing the ball. The lethal combination of genuine pace and swing is what destroyed Delhi's experienced batters, like many other batting units before them. Despite his outstanding feats, Nabi is yet to get the India A call-up, something that is long overdue.
However, Nabi did get called up by the North Zone for last year's Duleep Trophy and he had a hat-trick there too. Unfortunately, the pacer is yet to get the required luck with his national ambitions. Perhaps, the next 12 months might be the time when Nabi makes the crucial leaps towards establishing his name on a bigger level.
Till date, Nabi has picked 120 wickets at a brilliant average of 20 and strike rate of 41.
