New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir fast bowlerAuqib Nabi Dar is certainly living the time of his life on the professional front. Nabi’s success at the ongoing
Ranji Trophy has come on back of lot of perseverance, hard work and since he has been brave, luck has favoured him to the fullest in asserting his superiority as a right-arm pacer.
The 29-year-old pace bowler from Baramulla has proven to be a show stopper in the ongoing Ranji final against Karnataka as he became the highest wicket-taker in the season with as many as 60 scalps, surpassing Uttarakhand spinner Mayank Mishra’s tally of 59 wickets. Not only has Nabi stood out with his performances in the domestic tournament but has also set an example for others to pick up and follow.
Nabi’s success has not been visible in just this season as the current Ranji edition has been a follow-up, albeit a much better one, of the previous one where he finished as the second-highest wicket-taker with 44 wickets. In the season finale against Karnataka, Nabi picked up a five-wicket haul (3 wickets on Day 3 and 2 on Day 4) to emerge as the most promising fast bowler.
Not only this, en route to J&K’s maiden finale, Nabi stood out with his performances in the semifinal and quarterfinal picking 12 and 9 wickets respectively. In the finale, which might give J&K a maiden Ranji the, Dar made a difference by dispatching all the Karnataka biggies, including the prized scalp of Mayank Agarwal for 160 runs.
Calls grow louder for Nabi’s India selection
Meanwhile after his brilliant show in the Ranji Trophy season, calls are growing louder in the cricketing fraternity for Nabi’s selection in the Indian nation team. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday showered praise on Jammu and Kashmir pacer Nabi, saying that he deserves to represent the country.
‘J&K has shown the world what effort and intent can do ..They have made that region so proud of them .. tuff environment makes tuff people,’ Ganguly wrote on ‘X’.
‘Auqib Nabi on his way to national colours, england is the place to start in the summer,’ he added, tagging the BCCI, senior men’s selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
Earlier in Thursday, another former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik lauded Nabi’s efforts for the J&K team calling him an absolute champion.
‘Watching this Ranji Trophy campaign and following it closely , one thing I can say for certain For all the young boys and girls out there playing this sport and wanting to represent the country, Do it the AQUIB NABI way Can’t think of any pacer/player in a long time doing what he’s done Domination from start to end and almost single handedly winning the domestic tournament that matters the most to get into the national side,’ he wrote on X.
‘Fitness across the whole campaign , bowling those longgg spells and across different soils , weather conditions and whether there’s been any help for a pacer or not , he’s been there for his team with the belief every time he’s had the ball to STRIKE for his team. Hats off to you AQUIB , you’re an absolute champion and hope you get a lot of success that come your way and may you be the lesson on ‘ How it’s done to break the doors through sheer will power , skill and resilience,” he added.
Meanwhile, resuming Day 4 at 220 for five, Karnataka lost their last five wickets for 73 runs, with Nabi dismissing their top batter Mayank and also claiming the wicket of Shikhar Shetty. J&K thus secured a vital 291-run first-innings lead.
