{"id":4978,"date":"2026-08-03T15:49:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/?p=4978"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:49:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:49:31","slug":"baramullas-dale-steyn-the-journey-of-auqib-nabi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/?p=4978","title":{"rendered":"Baramulla\u2019s \u2018Dale Steyn\u2019: The Journey of Auqib Nabi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in the conflict-affected town of Baramulla<\/strong> in Jammu and Kashmir, Auqib Nabi<\/strong> never imagined that the game he played with a tennis ball on local grounds would one day put him among India’s most promising domestic fast bowlers. Inspired by South African great Dale Steyn<\/strong>, Nabi spent his childhood imitating his hero’s bowling action, dreaming of making it big despite limited opportunities.<\/p>\n

“Dale Steyn was everything I wanted to be. His run-up, his aggression, his celebrations\u2014he was a khoobsurat gendbaaz<\/em> (beautiful bowler),” Nabi recalls.<\/p>\n

Breakthrough on the domestic circuit<\/h3>\n

The 28-year-old left-arm pacer announced himself during the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy<\/strong>, claiming 44 wickets in just eight matches<\/strong>, the second-highest tally of the tournament. He has continued that rich vein of form in the current season, establishing himself as the spearhead of Jammu & Kashmir’s bowling attack.<\/p>\n

This season alone, Nabi has already picked up 17 wickets<\/strong>, including two five-wicket hauls. His standout performances came against Mumbai<\/strong>, where he dismissed stalwarts such as Ajinkya Rahane<\/strong>, Sarfaraz Khan<\/strong>, Musheer Khan<\/strong> (twice) and centurion Siddhesh Lad<\/strong>, before producing a match-winning spell against Rajasthan with 7\/24<\/strong> in the second innings and a 10-wicket match haul<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Confident about his team’s prospects, Nabi believes Jammu & Kashmir have the bowling attack to challenge for their maiden Ranji Trophy title.<\/p>\n

The defeat he hasn’t forgotten<\/h3>\n

Despite his success, one match continues to haunt him\u2014the heartbreaking Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Kerala last season. Jammu & Kashmir narrowly missed a semifinal berth after Kerala secured a slender one-run first-innings lead, largely due to a crucial lower-order partnership between M. Nidheesh<\/strong> and Basil Thampi<\/strong>. “I’ll never forget that match. It still hurts because we were so close,” Nabi says.<\/p>\n

Rediscovering his swing<\/h3>\n

Nabi’s rise has not been straightforward. Before his breakthrough season, he had taken just 46 wickets in 20 first-class matches<\/strong>. He admits that regaining control over both inswing and outswing transformed his career. “I naturally bowled outswing, then worked on inswing and ended up losing my outswing. Later I realised a fast bowler needs both. I focused on my wrist position and bowling consistent lengths. Over the last two years, everything has clicked.”<\/p>\n

Irfan Pathan’s influence<\/h3>\n

One of the biggest turning points in Nabi’s journey came under former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan<\/strong>, who served as player-cum-mentor for Jammu & Kashmir. Nabi credits Pathan with teaching him the importance of wrist position and encouraging him to retain his natural bowling action. “When I started playing, we didn’t even have specialist bowling coaches. Irfan bhai changed the way I looked at fast bowling.” He also acknowledges the role of current bowling coach P. Krishna Kumar<\/strong>, who has helped him fine-tune his skills in recent seasons.<\/p>\n

Choosing cricket over medicine<\/h3>\n

Cricket was never part of the family’s original plan. His father, Gulam Nabi Dar<\/strong>, a government school English teacher, wanted his academically gifted son to pursue medicine. Nabi eventually attended Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association trials on a friend’s insistence. After failing to make the cut for several years, he finally earned selection for the Under-19 team in 2016. His father initially opposed the decision but became one of his strongest supporters after Nabi’s selection.<\/p>\n

A Kashmiri inspiration<\/h3>\n

Seeing fellow Kashmiri cricketer Parvez Rasool<\/strong> represent India convinced Nabi that the dream was achievable. “Watching Parvez bhai stand for the national anthem in the India jersey gave me goosebumps. That’s when I realised someone from Kashmir could make it.”<\/p>\n

Borrowed spikes, bigger dreams<\/h3>\n

Nabi’s early struggles remain etched in his memory. He attended his first JKCA trials wearing ordinary sports shoes and only then realised fast bowlers needed spikes. Unable to afford a pair, he borrowed shoes from senior players and continued doing so even after making the Under-19 squad.His first Ranji Trophy payment allowed him to buy his own spikes. “I’ve still kept those shoes. They remind me where the journey began.”<\/p>\n

India remains the ultimate target<\/h3>\n

Despite praise from national selector Ajay Ratra<\/strong> and encouragement from India pacers Arshdeep Singh<\/strong> and Harshit Rana<\/strong>, Nabi remains grounded.<\/p>\n

“My only dream is to play for India. Coming from Baramulla, that once felt impossible. Today, I believe it’s within reach.” Beyond wearing the India jersey, he hopes to establish a cricket academy in Baramulla so aspiring youngsters from the region have better facilities than he did. He also has unfinished business with the IPL<\/strong>, having attended trials for multiple franchises over the years.<\/p>\n

From bowling in borrowed spikes to becoming one of India’s leading domestic pacers, Auqib Nabi’s story is one of perseverance, patience and unwavering belief. The youngster once known as Baramulla’s “Dale Steyn”<\/strong> is now determined to create an identity of his own on Indian cricket’s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

Source: Read the original article on thelivenagpur.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing up in the conflict-affected town of Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, Auqib Nabi never imagined that the game he played with a tennis ball on local grounds would one day put him among India’s most promising domestic fast bowlers. Inspired by South African great Dale Steyn, Nabi spent his childhood imitating his hero’s bowling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,36],"tags":[39,29,33],"class_list":["post-4978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-news","category-share-suggestions","tag-impact-f","tag-signal-avoid","tag-stage-stage-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}