Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi has credited former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan for playing a key role in his development as a bowler. Auqib Nabi, who has been in stellar form in the 2025–26 domestic season, has already bagged 17 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, and continues to impress with his ability to swing the ball both ways.
JKCA’s Faith in Auqib Nabi Paying Off in Domestic Circuit
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) stood by the pacer even during inconsistent phases, and Pathan, during his tenure as player-cum-mentor, reportedly wrote to the board emphasizing the importance of investing in Nabi’s training and development — a move that’s now paying dividends.
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑰 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐, 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅… 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒕. 𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝑰’𝒎 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔,” 𝑵𝒂𝒃𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂.
Pathan’s Guidance and Continued Growth
Recalling the early days of his cricketing journey, Auqib Nabi revealed that there were no bowling coaches available when he played age-group cricket. However, his Ranji Trophy debut season changed everything, as Irfan Pathan became a mentor figure.
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒋𝒊 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒕, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕, 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝑷. 𝑲𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝑲𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏,” 𝑵𝒂𝒃𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Auqib Nabi’s performance this season has included scalps of Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan (twice), and Siddhesh Lad. His standout performance came against Rajasthan, where he registered 7 for 24 in the second innings, completing a ten-wicket match haul and dismantling the opponent’s top order with precision.
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