Prior to the mini auction, Nabi shared with ESPN that he struggles to identify a single reason for not being selected all these years.
“It feels different, but I can’t point to any one specific reason,” Nabi mentioned. “Finally that moment is here… but you never know. If it doesn’t happen, it’s alright. I’m accustomed to it. I’ll just work even harder.”
This season, Nabi has maintained an impressive performance across formats. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he has taken 15 wickets in seven matches, boasting an economy rate of 7.41. In his latest game against Madhya Pradesh earlier this week, he also contributed with the bat, scoring a quick 32 off 21 balls to assist J&K in posting a defendable score, followed by a critical three-wicket haul to close out the match.
These T20 performances come on the back of a remarkable start to the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy. Nabi was the sole fast bowler among the top five wicket-takers in the first half of the season, finishing with 29 wickets across nine innings.
This impressive tally included three five-wicket hauls, highlighted by a phenomenal 7 for 24 against Rajasthan, which was instrumental in J&K clinching a place in the knockout stage.
His statistics build on his domination in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, where he concluded the season with 44 wickets at an outstanding average of 13.93.
No other seamer came close to matching that performance, with the next best finishing on 35 wickets, while only Vidarbha’s left-arm spin all-rounder Harsh Dubey surpassed Nabi’s overall tally with a record 69-wicket season.
First Published: Dec 16, 2025 5:44 PM IST
