{"id":1164433,"date":"2026-02-23T18:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/?p=1164433"},"modified":"2026-02-23T18:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:41:00","slug":"ranji-trophy-final-bowled-1000-balls-in-a-year-the-making-of-jk-speedgun-auqib-nabi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/ranji-trophy-final-bowled-1000-balls-in-a-year-the-making-of-jk-speedgun-auqib-nabi\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranji Trophy final | 'Bowled 1000 balls in a year': The making of J&K speedgun Auqib Nabi"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
NEW DELHI: As Jammu and Kashmir prepare for their maiden Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka in Hubbali, fast-bowling spearhead Auqib Nabi remains the calmest presence in a dressing room filled with nerves. The pacer from Sheeri village in Baramulla has been the driving force behind J&K\u2019s dream run this season.<\/p>\n

When J&K step onto the field on Tuesday, expectations will once again rest on Nabi\u2019s shoulders. He has taken 55 wickets from nine matches this season \u2014 the second-highest tally \u2014 at a remarkable average of 12.72. Bowling coach P. Krishnakumar reflected on the shy pacer\u2019s rise into a dominant force.<\/p>\n

“If you look at his record, he has got 199 wickets in 40 games. I have been with him for the last three years and he has taken 99 wickets in the last two seasons. In this season, he’s taken 50-plus wickets so far and that shows his skill level has gone to a different level now because he knows how to move the ball, bowl on different pitches and against different batters. So it’s not a one-day process – it took almost one year to develop it and it began in the first year when I came into the Jammu & Kashmir team,” said Krishnakumar to IANS.<\/p>\n

A fan of Dale Steyn, Nabi made his Ranji debut in 2020 but has flourished in the past two seasons. Krishnakumar credited his bowling action as the foundation of his success.<\/p>\n

“You see, he has a very, very good action… If you compare and look at it from a biomechanical perspective, his action is perfect… With the swing and seam he has, it becomes very difficult for the batters to get runs against Auqib.”<\/p>\n

The transformation required relentless effort.<\/p>\n

“The first year of me being with him, it was all about the process… He bowled a thousand balls in the first year to develop his skills, master his wrist position, and his backspin… it took almost one year to change him,” he said.<\/p>\n

Nabi\u2019s nine-wicket haul against Bengal in the semi-final, alongside a crucial 42 with the bat, underlined his all-round impact. He also produced career-best figures of 7-24 against Rajasthan and played key roles against Delhi.<\/p>\n

“Auqib has been fantastic because taking 99 wickets in the last two seasons is unbelievable… I am sure that he will definitely get a nod in some upcoming Test series,” Krishnakumar said.<\/p>\n

Calling for national recognition, he added, “As a coach, I feel that he should be given a chance when he is performing… Taking almost 100 wickets in two years – what do you want as a player?… If somebody is performing there, I think they should definitely get into the team.”<\/p>\n

With Karnataka\u2019s star-studded batting line-up awaiting in the final, Krishnakumar believes the occasion will not change Nabi.<\/p>\n

“The best part about Nabi is, he’s very calm in his mind… If he takes a six-wicket haul, he’s still the same and that is very important,” he said.<\/p>\n

For Nabi, who once trained without proper facilities, the final is another step in an extraordinary journey \u2014 but his focus remains firmly on delivering glory for Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/ranji-trophy-final-bowled-1000-184100097.html<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW DELHI: As Jammu and Kashmir prepare for their maiden Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka in Hubbali, fast-bowling spearhead Auqib Nabi remains the calmest presence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1164434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1164433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1164433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1164434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1164433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1164433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1164433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}