Auqib Nabi's story: Father wanted him to be a doctor; 'qismat' changed plans

New Delhi: Growing up successful a curfew-stricken Baramulla, Auqib Nabi’s pastime was imitating Dale Steyn’s bowling action. He calls the South African fable a “khoobsurat gendbaaz (beautiful bowler).

”“Growing up, helium was my idol. I loved his enactment and his wicket celebrations. I utilized to ticker Dale Steyn’s bowling a lot. Everything astir his bowling was poetry,” Nabi tells TimesofIndia.com successful an exclusive interview.

The 28-year-old is making waves with the reddish shot successful India’s home circuit. In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, helium picked up 44 wickets successful 8 matches — the second-most successful the season. His show helped Jammu and Kashmir suffice for the quarterfinals, wherever Kerala edged them by a one-run first-innings lead.Nabi has started the 2025-26 play precisely wherever helium near disconnected past year. He has already picked 17 wickets, including 2 five-wicket hauls. Against Mumbai, his notable wickets included Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan (twice), and centurion Siddhesh Lad. Against Rajasthan, helium wreaked havoc, taking 7 for 24 successful the 2nd innings, including a ten-wicket lucifer haul. He removed Rajasthan’s apical six successful his opening burst.

“I judge we tin triumph the Ranji Trophy this season,” the lanky J&K pacer said successful a bold claim.“We person each the ingredients required for a champion team. We person the champion bowling onslaught successful the country. All the bowlers and all-rounders are doing well. Even aft losing 5 wickets, we’ve managed to adhd 100–150 runs. I deliberation we tin spell each the mode this time,” helium adds.Last season, J&K missed retired from progressing by the narrowest borderline possible.

The 81-run basal betwixt Kerala's M Nidheesh and Basil Thampi, which eclipsed Jammu and Kashmir’s first-innings full of 280 by conscionable 1 run, inactive gives Nabi sleepless nights.“It was sheer atrocious luck. I volition ne'er hide that match, I volition ne'er hide that partnership. Waah re qismat (What luck!)” laughs Nabi.'Change successful Qismat'

Before the commencement of the 2024-25 season, Nabi had 46 wickets successful 20 matches.The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) kept giving him chances contempt not having the desired results. It was each due to the fact that of Irfan Pathan, the erstwhile India all-rounder, who joined J&K successful a player-cum-mentor relation and, earlier leaving, wrote a message to JKCA asking the relation to put successful Nabi.“When I started bowling, I utilized to vessel outswing. Then I thought I needed to enactment connected inswing arsenic well. While doing so, I mislaid my outswing but my inswing improved.“After a mates much seasons, I thought aisa nahi chalega (it can’t spell similar this). I needed to determination the shot some ways. I started moving connected my wrist presumption and connected what magnitude to hit. To beryllium honest, I’ve kept things elemental for the past 1–2 years. Now, I person bully power implicit some swings.

That’s wherefore I’m getting much wickets,” helium laughs.“When I started playing age-group cricket, we ne'er had bowling coaches. Even increasing up, I ne'er had anyone to thatch me. When I made my Ranji Trophy debut, we had Irfan Pathan with us. He gave maine a batch of utile tips related to bowling. He was the archetypal 1 who told maine to enactment connected my wrist and not alteration anything. After helium left, we didn’t person immoderate bowling coach. We were connected our own.

For the past 2 years, we’ve had P. Krishna Kumar arsenic our bowling coach.

After helium came, I got a batch of help, and it’s showing successful my bowling,” helium adds.A precocious bloomer

Nabi’s father, Gulam Nabi Dar, is an English teacher successful a authorities schoolhouse successful Baramulla. “I was bully successful studies, and my father’s imagination was that I would go a doctor,” recollects Nabi.“I utilized to play tennis-ball cricket for fun. I had a person who went for a JKCA proceedings but wasn’t selected.

I was ne'er that funny successful cricket. He insisted, and erstwhile helium told maine stories of the camps, it funny me. I went for the trials but wasn’t selected for 2–3 years.“In 2016, my past U-19 year, I yet got picked — not for the one-dayers, but for the four-day matches. When I played the Cooch Behar Trophy, I made up my caput that this is what I privation to do. Then I played 2 oregon 3 years successful U-23 earlier making my Ranji Trophy debut successful 2020,” helium says.Gulam Nabi Dar wanted to spot his lad successful whites — but not the ones Auqib chose.“My begetter utilized to archer maine that studies were important. I was bully astatine them too. He was truly upset erstwhile I started playing cricket. After I got picked for U-19, helium began supporting me. Before that, helium was against it. Now he’s my biggest fan,” says Nabi.The Parvez Rasool impact

The imagination of playing for India archetypal took signifier successful Nabi’s caput erstwhile helium saw chap Kashmiri Parvez Rasool marque his India debut.“During the nationalist anthem, I had goosebumps. Seeing Parvez bhai wearing India bluish made maine emotional. The infinitesimal inspired maine due to the fact that helium was 1 of us,” says a arrogant Nabi.Rasool precocious announced his status from planetary cricket.“Mai jahaan se aata hoon, wahaan se nikal ke kabhi is level pe cricket khelunga, yeh nahi socha tha maine (Where I travel from, I ne'er thought I’d marque it this acold and play cricket astatine this level).

Parvez bhai playing for India and getting picked successful the IPL was immense for maine — you tin accidental a turning point. Suddenly, I had idiosyncratic to look up to,” helium says.Borrowed spikes, 1 dream

Nabi reveals an absorbing communicative astir his archetypal trial. When helium reached Jammu, helium recovered retired helium needed spikes to bowl.“I was shocked. I was wearing sports shoes worthy Rs. 500,” helium reminisces. "Then I borrowed spikes from a elder player. When I got picked for U-19, I borrowed spikes from a person who had already played U-19 for J&K.

He gave maine a spare pair,” helium adds.From his archetypal lucifer fee, Nabi bought his archetypal brace of spikes — which helium inactive treasures.“They’ll enactment successful my location till my past breath. Those shoes were the archetypal measurement toward a large dream,” helium says.Nabi wants to play for India, and the mode helium is taking wickets, the “Dale Steyn of Baramulla” whitethorn not beryllium acold from an India call-up.“When I started taking cricket seriously, my sole purpose was to correspond India — to correspond my country.

Coming from Baramulla, adjacent reasoning astir playing for your state is simply a large thing. You don’t person relation models.“Now, my lone extremity is to play for India. Nothing else. I’ll support moving hard to execute that,” helium says.During the Duleep Trophy, erstwhile helium picked up a fifer for North Zone, his fast-bowling partners Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana boosted his confidence.“The duo kept telling me, ‘Paji, kaafi achha kar rahe ho, lage raho aap (You’re doing truly well, support it up).’

I loved playing with them,” helium says.Recently, successful the archetypal circular of the Ranji Trophy against Mumbai, Nabi received a pat connected the backmost from selector Ajay Ratra, who was astatine the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium for the match.“When I picked up 5 wickets successful the 2nd innings, I met Ajay sir successful the squad hotel, and helium appreciated my bowling,” says Nabi.Destiny bound

Despite each the accolades and attention, the Baramulla lad remains grounded.

He believes successful destiny and hard work.“Whatever is written for you, you’ll get it. Main mehnat kar sakta hoon, baaki Allah dekh lenge (I tin lone enactment hard; the remainder is successful God’s hands),” helium says.“For me, it each started with gully cricket. We ne'er had immoderate due ground. Now determination are a couple, but backmost past determination was perfectly nothing. I didn’t adjacent cognize that a accelerated bowler needed spikes. I ne'er thought I’d travel this far. I’m conscionable blessed,” helium says.“The main alteration I made was successful my mindset. I started believing successful myself. I stopped reasoning astir the results. I focused much connected the process, and the remainder took attraction of itself.”Barring playing for India, Nabi’s distant imagination is to unfastened a cricket academy successful Baramulla, wherever helium tin nurture much Auqibs.“I’d similar to unfastened an academy. There’s perfectly thing here. When I started playing, I had to spell to Bengaluru for grooming and played lower-division matches there.

I privation to find and bid much Auqib Nabis from Baramulla,” helium says.In the past fewer years, Nabi has been called by astatine slightest fractional a twelve IPL franchises for trials but is yet to find a team.“I’ve fixed trials for MI (Mumbai Indians), RR (Rajasthan Royals), KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), GT (Gujarat Titans), and SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad). Last year, DC (Delhi Capitals) called maine but I couldn’t go. I privation to play successful the IPL — it volition assistance maine execute my imagination of starting an academy successful Baramulla,” helium says.It has been a agelong travel for Nabi, and the roadworthy up is conscionable arsenic long. But the “Dale Steyn of Baramulla” knows the worth of patience and perseverance — and that he’s getting person to his dream.