From Baramulla to Ranji stardom: Meet Auqib Nabi, Jammu and Kashmir’s silent strike weapon | Cricket News
P Krishna Kumar, Jammu and Kashmir’s bowling coach in Ranji Trophy, never doubted that Auqib Nabi Dar was the sharpest arrow in his quiver. But the warrior needed his charioteer to guide him with direction. “When I came to J&K as coach, it was evident Auqib had a beautiful natural bowling action, like Md Shami’s wrist position. But his outswinger needed variations for him to become effective. Not only is he a skilled bowler, he learns quickly,” coach Krishna says about the leading domestic wicket-taker, though it’s early days in the Ranji season – only two matches old. Yet, his 17 wickets, including a 7/24 match haul against Rajasthan in the second round, and an average of 9.25, make Auqib a fast bowling talent, to sit up and take notice, if you can look past a speed gun and the fixation with 140 kph. Krishna puts Auqib’s range at “125 – 131 kph”, though the bowler who collected his third 5-wkt haul of 2025-26, including one in the Duleep Trophy, politely nudges decision-makers to consider …
