IND vs NZ: Auqib Nabi ends his wait for first international wicket
On Saturday, November 7, it took Auqib Nabi only five balls to take a wicket. Tim Seifert, looking to take on India's most inexperienced bowler, ended up chipping the ball towards mid-off, offering Anshul Kamboj a simple catch.
India had their first wicket of the match. Auqib Nabi had his first as well, after nearly a seven-year wait since making his first-class debut. A dream had come true.
The nerves have settled, finally. Auqib Nabi celebrates one of his wickets in 2nd ODI vs New Zealand. (AP Photo) ONE BRINGS TWO FOR AUQIB NABI
The second wicket did not take much longer. Bowling the third over of his opening spell, Auqib Nabi delivered the most Auqib Nabi ball possible. Good length, into the channel. The ball moved away late from Will Young, who had little answer to the delivery.
Outside edge, into the hands of the keeper. Auqib Nabi had his second. India were on top early in the game, courtesy of a fast bowler who had knocked so hard on the door of the national team that it nearly broke down.INCREDIBLE GRAB! KL Rahul flies across to pull off a stunning grab as Auqib Nabi picks up his second! Watch the HERO VIDA India Tour of New Zealand, 2nd ODI, LIVE NOW on Sony Sports Network TV channels, Sony Vizha & Sony LIV. #SonySportsNetwork #SonyVizha #SonyLIV #NZvINDβ Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) November 7, 2026Born in Sheeri, Baramulla, in 1996, Auqib Nabi was never the most spectacular of fast bowlers. He had the makings of a good seamer: a smooth run-up, a repeatable action and the willingness to bowl long spells.
But he lacked the X-factor that selectors often seek in a fast bowler. He was not particularly tall, did not bowl at express pace, nor did he wield the bat with the same efficiency with which he held the ball.
What Nabi had was near-robotic consistency. It became the foundation of his rise through the Jammu and Kashmir cricket system.AUQIB NABI: THE BARAMULLA EXPRESS
Mohsin Kamal, a sports journalist from Jammu and Kashmir, has been following Auqib's journey for years. His first recollection of the fast bowler goes back to a time when even the prospect of playing Ranji Trophy cricket seemed a distant ambition.
"The first time I heard about Auqib Nabi, I was 14 or 15 years old. There was a boy playing Under-19 cricket back then, Haziq Bhatt, whose father was also a cricketer and understood how cricket worked. I had seen Auqib playing in a local match in Baramulla, and one day Haziq's father, Bashir Ahmad, told me that he had spotted a fast bowler in a local cricket match whose run-up, action and everything else looked perfect. He felt the boy was designed to play at a good level," he recalled.
"The best thing about Auqib was that he kept things simple. To a layman, he appeared to be someone with very basic skills. He would come in and bowl in the right areas. There was nothing extraordinary about him. Everyone in J&K cricket thought he would play Ranji Trophy cricket and do well for the state, but nobody really expected him to make it to the IPL. He didn't have that X-factor that we usually associate with fast bowlers who make it big," he added.
But that perception began to change during the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season.AUQIB NABI'S INDIA PUSH
Until then, Nabi was largely seen as a dependable domestic seamer who could go on to become one of Jammu and Kashmir's leading wicket-takers. There was little indication that he could eventually make the jump to international cricket. That season, however, offered a glimpse of something different.
It was not a case of one outstanding performance or a couple of memorable spells. Nabi began picking up wickets with remarkable consistency, repeatedly hitting the 5th and 6th stump channels and making life difficult for batters. He was not giving away too many bad balls, and there were very few occasions when he looked out of rhythm. Auqib Nabi has been Ranji Trophy's best fast bowler in the last couple of seasons. (PTI Photo)
The following two seasons took that promise to another level. Nabi collected 104 wickets across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaigns, establishing himself as one of the most difficult bowlers to negotiate in domestic cricket.
The 2025-26 season was particularly special. Nabi finished as the competition's highest wicket-taker, claiming 60 wickets in 17 innings at an average of 12.65. He was the driving force behind Jammu and Kashmir's historic maiden Ranji Trophy title and was named Player of the Tournament.
A swing bowler with the ability to move the ball both ways, Nabi had developed into a relentless operator. His strength was not necessarily the speed with which he delivered the ball, but the uncertainty he created. He could bring one back into the batter, take the next away, and keep landing the ball in areas that offered little room for scoring.
His rise was not built on talent alone. There were long hours of practice, often away from the attention of the cricketing world.
Mohsin remembers seeing Nabi train at Government Degree College Baramulla, where he would regularly spend hours working on his bowling.
"He worked extremely hard. I was in college at the time, and he used to practise at our college ground. Almost every day, when I came out of college, I would see him training. I joined him on several occasions, either bowling to him or standing behind the nets and watching him bowl. He would have these long, single-wicket practice sessions, sometimes at night, all by himself. I would often come out of college and find him practising alone," Mohsin said.
"He has worked incredibly hard, and his journey has been phenomenal. Nobody ever expected him to make it this big. People felt he wasn't someone who bowled at 140 kmph or had anything particularly extraordinary about him. But he found his own way. What he has already achieved, and what he continues to do, is extraordinary."advertisementTHE ILL-TIMED DIPBy the time the IPL auction came around, Nabi's domestic performances had made him one of the most sought-after Indian fast bowlers. Delhi Capitals secured his services for Rs 8.40 crore, giving him his first opportunity in the tournament.
But the transition to white-ball cricket at the highest level was not as straightforward.
In the IPL, Nabi struggled to find his feet. Five matches, 13 overs, no wickets and an economy rate of 11.46 made for difficult reading. His performances in the India A setup did little to silence the doubts either. When he finally made his ODI debut, he conceded 84 runs. Auqib Nabi did not pick a single wicket in IPL 2026. (AP Photo)
Call it fate, call it irony, but the biggest challenge for Auqib Nabi became the reputation he had built over the previous two seasons.
A bowler who had made a habit of taking wickets in domestic cricket suddenly found himself struggling to get one at the international level. The questions followed. Was his style of bowling suited to white-ball cricket? Could he make the adjustment required to succeed against international batters?
There was also an element of bad luck. In his first two ODIs, Nabi created opportunities but did not always get the rewards. Catches were dropped off his bowling, leaving him waiting for that elusive first international breakthrough.
But for a fast bowler, wickets matter. And when the results do not come, the conversation around you tends to change quickly.
Mohsin Kamal had been watching that unfold.
"He was a little unlucky in the first match. He created opportunities, but catches were dropped off his bowling. That stays in your mind, especially when you are waiting for that first wicket. He had gone wicketless in the IPL as well, and people had already started saying that he wasn't suited to white-ball cricket. There was constant talk about him not being made for this format, and although he was getting opportunities, the results weren't coming," he said.
That is what made Saturday's breakthrough particularly important.
The impact of it is not just limited to the scorecard. It was an answer to the growing questions around his ability to translate his domestic success into international cricket. The second wicket, coming soon after, was a reminder of the qualities that had made him such a formidable bowler in the first place. Auqib Nabi bowls a delivery in the India vs New Zealand ODI series. (AFP Photo) WHAT AUQIB NABI MEANS FOR KASHMIR
But he was not the only star of the show today. Gurnoor Brar eventually stole the spotlight with a sensational spell of 10-2-30-4, extending his terrific run in the series and helping India run through the New Zealand batting line-up.
But Nabi had done enough to give himself a reason to smile.
For Mohsin, the significance of the moment extended well beyond the cricket field.
"It also felt really good personally. I can tell you that the moment I woke up today, I saw that everyone in Kashmir was talking about Auqib finally getting his first international wicket. You open social media, and it's all about Auqib Nabi. That's what it means to people in Kashmir. You get to see someone from your own region playing international cricket and taking wickets. It really feels good," he said.
For a region that has not had too many occasions to celebrate sporting achievements at the highest level, Nabi's journey has already become something special. And now, there is an international wicket to go with it as well.
India finally got to see, however sparingly in his seven-over spell, what Auqib Nabi is really good at. Not express pace, not spectacular variations, but the craft of fast bowling. The ability to keep hitting the right areas, move the ball late and make batters play.
After all the years of hard work, the domestic success and the questions over his ability to succeed in white-ball cricket, Auqib finally had his moment.
And he should be happy with what he did today. After all, you do not quench the thirst of a first international wicket every day.- Ends
Kingshuk loves football, breathes cricket and lives to travel. He is in a love-hate relationship with Barcelona and Sunrisers Hyderabad and likes to bowl military medium.
