Growing up in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, Auqib Nabi started playing cricket with a tennis ball. Back then, there weren’t any proper grounds and Nabi, along with his friends, would play on the hard surfaces and dream of donning the India colours someday.
The fast bowler, who claimed his eighth five-wicket haul in First Class cricket against Kerala on Sunday, still chases his dreams of playing Test cricket for the national team. Ever since making his debut for J&K in red-ball cricket five years ago, the soft-spoken Nabi, who idolises Dale Steyn, believes that playing four-day cricket regularly has helped him and the team get better.
“Earlier, we could not play as many matches with the red ball, but for the last couple of years, we have been travelling outside the state in the off-season and playing in tournaments like the Buchi Babu. Those experiences have helped us improve our game,” Nabi told Sportstar.
So far in the season, Nabi is the leading wicket-taker for Jammu and Kashmir with 43 scalps and is second in the overall list. While he loves to focus on the basics and be accurate while bowling stump-to-stump, the 28-year-old has significantly contributed with the bat as well.
Batting lower down the order, he has forged crucial partnerships – including the one against Kerala. “When I went out to bat, coach (Ajay Sharma) told me to play freely and score runs, and I just followed his instructions,” Nabi said. During his U-19 days, he had scored a century against Saurashtra, coming in as a nightwatchman, and ever since, he makes it a point to bat regularly in the nets. “I like batting a lot,” he said with a smile.
While his efforts against Kerala remains as the ‘most satisfying moment’ for Nabi, he’s also happy to have come so far in his career. “My father was a school teacher, so initially, he did not want me to play cricket and insisted that I should take my education seriously. But I somehow managed to continue with the game and once I played for the state, my father was happy…”
With 89 wickets in 28 First Class appearances, it has been an eventful journey for Nabi, and by his admission, he still has miles to go to fulfil his dreams.