Auqib Nabi Dar, who rose to national fame after securing a whopping ₹8.40 crore deal with Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 auction, delivered a nine-wicket match haul to lead Jammu & Kashmir into their first-ever Ranji Trophy final.
Auqib Nabi. (Photo Credits: X)
Jammu and Kashmir created history as they marches into the final of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 after defeating Bengal in the semis. Chasing 126, J&K went over the line by 6 wickets to register a spot in the title clash.
Auqib Nabi played a crucial role as he scalped five wickets in the first innings and four in the second and also chipped in with a crucial 42.
The J&K pacer has been a Dale Steyn fan right from the beginning and imitating his bowling action was just another pastime for him.
“Growing up, he was my idol. I loved his action and his wicket celebrations. I used to watch Dale Steyn’s bowling a lot. Everything about his bowling was poetry,” Nabi said while talking to Times of India.
The right-arm bowler has been an experienced campaigner having played 40 First-Class Matches, 36 List A and 34 T20 matches. He made his FC debut against Jharkhand in 2020, played his first List A match against Haryana in 2018 while made his T20 debut against Jharkhand in 2019.
𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙋𝙐𝙍𝙀 𝙅𝙐𝘽𝙄𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 🤩
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 18, 2026
J&K create history as they defeat Bengal by 7️⃣ wickets to book their ticket to the #RanjiTrophy Final for the very first time 🫡
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/QXyCuRHJ6e@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/VBKPD9I9mX
The J&K bowler wasn't really interested in cricket initially and used to play tennis ball cricket for fun. It was during his Cooch Behar days when he decided to take the sport seriously.
“I used to play tennis-ball cricket for fun. I had a friend who went for a JKCA trial but wasn’t selected. I was never that interested in cricket. He insisted, and when he told me stories of the camps, it interested me. I went for the trials but wasn’t selected for 2–3 years."
“In 2016, my last U-19 year, I finally got picked — not for the one-dayers, but for the four-day matches. When I played the Cooch Behar Trophy, I made up my mind that this is what I want to do. Then I played two or three years in U-23 before making my Ranji Trophy debut in 2020,” he added.
A 6️⃣4️⃣-run stand for the 9th wicket 🤝
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 17, 2026
Watch snippets of a crucial partnership between Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh as J&K finish with 3️⃣0️⃣2️⃣ on the board!
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/QXyCuRIgVM#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/XHLV60Cl8u
Auqib credits Irfan Pathan for the kind of guidance he got when the former India player was with the side.
"When I made my Ranji Trophy debut, we had Irfan Pathan with us. He gave me a lot of useful tips related to bowling. He was the first one who told me to work on my wrist and not change anything," he said.
Breathing fire with the ball! 🔥
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 16, 2026
Watch the spell that brought up fifer number SIX for Auqib Nabi this season 💪
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/QXyCuRIgVM#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/0N5VqDcmqx
Nabi was picked up by Delhi Capitals for a sum of INR 8.4 Cr during the IPL 2026 auction held in December last year.
