Jammu and Kashmir pacesetter Auqib Nabi shared insights from his conversations with former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, whose guidance he still values highly. Nabi has picked up where he left off last year, having claimed 17 wickets so far in the 2025-26 season, including two five-wicket hauls.
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) continued to support him even when the results did not go his way immediately. During his stint as a player and mentor in J&K, Pathan had written a letter to the JKCA urging them to invest in Nabi’s development, a move that now seems to be paying off.
“When I started bowling, I always bowled with an outswing. Then I thought I needed to work on the inswing too. While I was doing that, I lost my outswing, but my inswing improved. After a few more seasons I thought it won’t work that way (it can’t go like that). I had to move the ball in both directions. I started working on my wrist position and what length to hit. To be honest, I’ve kept it simple for the past 1-2 years. Now I have good control over both swings. That is why I am getting more wickets,” said Nabi as quoted by Times of India.
“When I started playing age-group cricket, we never had bowling coaches. Even when I was growing up, I never had anyone to teach me. When I made my Ranji Trophy debut, we had Irfan Pathan with us. He gave me a lot of useful tips regarding bowling. He was the first one who told me to work on my wrist and not change anything. After he left, we had no bowling coach. We were on our own. For the past two years, we have had P. Krishna Kumar as our bowling coach. After he came, I got a lot of help and that is reflected in my bowling,” he added.
Talking about his current campaign, Nabi has already claimed several high-profile scalps including Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan (twice) and centurion Siddhesh Lad. Against Rajasthan he produced a devastating spell, taking 7 for 24 in the second innings to complete a ten-wicket match. His fiery opening burst saw him dismiss the entire top six of Rajasthan.
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