Auqib Nabi’s bubble bursts! With no pace, no variety, no Plan B, is he really the next big thing in Indian bowling?

[vvvslaxman]

4 hours ago, Nikhil_cric said:

Agreed. You can even be extremely good at the 82 mph average speed level but you need metronomical accuracy , a very high release point, strong release with high backspin or other such attributes. 

 

But it's risky because if their pace falls off even a little bit below that, they become cannon fodder. 

 

Case in point, Ollie Robinson. 

 

 

You need other attributes like height for extra natural bounce.  India used to have very tall bowlers. Srinath, Prasad later Ishant. Ishant's presence wasimmense as he had higher release point.He complemented shami and Bumrah very well.  India has a few. But not many in the category of well over 6 feet. Gurjapneet, Kartik Tyagi i can remember. Guys like Jansen , WIll O rourke  with their height and pace can stand out in certain conditions

 

[NameGoesHere]

By the way what kind of unprofessional writing did I see?

 

On the evidence of the first few of his IPL matches, Auqib Nabi doesn’t look like T20 material. Not to dishearten an inexperienced bowler, but he doesn’t look like any material. Now it’s up to him to prove his critics wrong.

 

This is an HT link but reads like a laboured write up by a fan. 

 

 

[Ultimate_Game]

Aquib Nabi is a long format bowler. He needs to be tried in Tests and not T20.

[maniac]

Seems like a Praveen Kumar type good swing bowler. Might be successful in red ball. PK was more street smart so got by in that era of less crazy batting. I feel give him a shot in tests and see. Kamboj is another guy who Hope has improved. His pace seems slightly up.

[The Realist]

Never heard of this guy so looked him up.

 

Thought maybe a new young talent but he's a soon to be 30 year old with a belly.

 

I know the bowling cupboard is bare but still good to have some standards.

Edited April 29 by The Realist

[StraightDrive26]

4 hours ago, The Realist said:

Never heard of this guy so looked him up.

 

Thought maybe a new young talent but he's a soon to be 30 year old with a belly.

 

I know the bowling cupboard is bare but still good to have some standards.

He is being talked about because of his exploits in J&K winning the Ranji Trophy. He was the highest wicket taker in the tournament with 60 wickets at 12.50. He seems like someone who will do well in red ball format but again we need to wait and see. His batting means that he can be a good third seamer if he does well. I will take IPL performances with a pinch of salt. Teams scoring 250 for fun and a bowler with not much experience at this level can struggle. 

[Lone Wolf]

On 4/28/2026 at 11:55 AM, Nikhil_cric said:

Airspeed is crucial in Test cricket everywhere , not just in Australia. You need to be 85 mph average pace as a pace unit to be elite. 

 

You don't need to be express - gains are marginal above that pace range but below that 85 mph threshold and you'll never be elite anywhere. 

 

 

Indeed Ollie Robinson is an example for everyone.  Moment his pace dropped below 85mph he became club level despite his height and skills

Edited April 30 by Lone Wolf

[Suhaan]

On 4/29/2026 at 1:52 AM, maniac said:

Seems like a Praveen Kumar type good swing bowler. Might be successful in red ball. PK was more street smart so got by in that era of less crazy batting. I feel give him a shot in tests and see. Kamboj is another guy who Hope has improved. His pace seems slightly up.

He seems 40-45

[Lone Wolf]

Nabi might have his utility in NZ on those green tops but other than that his bowling is forgettable for International standards.

Ranji Trophy is not the place to look to find genuine Pacers.

 

I hope the reports of Gurnoor Brar being in scheme of things for that Afg test are true.  That's a genuine red ball bowler right there to invest.

[Sooda]

Hasn't he shown enough quality on flat picthes too though, including in Ranji final against a very good Karnataka line up

 

He also had a good SMAT (and I know there's zameen aasman difference in standard between that and IPL) but it suggests he has the skills for T20 

[Ultimate_Game]

On 4/28/2026 at 8:13 PM, The Realist said:

Never heard of this guy so looked him up.

 

Thought maybe a new young talent but he's a soon to be 30 year old with a belly.

 

I know the bowling cupboard is bare but still good to have some standards.

 

2 hours ago, Sooda said:

Hasn't he shown enough quality on flat picthes too though, including in Ranji final against a very good Karnataka line up

 

He also had a good SMAT (and I know there's zameen aasman difference in standard between that and IPL) but it suggests he has the skills for T20 

 

3 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

Nabi might have his utility in NZ on those green tops but other than that his bowling is forgettable for International standards.

Ranji Trophy is not the place to look to find genuine Pacers.

 

I hope the reports of Gurnoor Brar being in scheme of things for that Afg test are true.  That's a genuine red ball bowler right there to invest.

 

On 4/29/2026 at 12:29 AM, StraightDrive26 said:

He is being talked about because of his exploits in J&K winning the Ranji Trophy. He was the highest wicket taker in the tournament with 60 wickets at 12.50. He seems like someone who will do well in red ball format but again we need to wait and see. His batting means that he can be a good third seamer if he does well. I will take IPL performances with a pinch of salt. Teams scoring 250 for fun and a bowler with not much experience at this level can struggle. 

 

You have to back your domestic performers. The guy was the reason J&K won Ranji trophy and beat a strong Karnataka team. And Aquib Nabi was the leading wkt taker and also the MoM in the final. If you don't give your domestic performers a chance then you risk demotivating all of the other upcoming and fringe players as they get the message that domestic cricket is not important, and only IPL is. This is similar to what's happening in England right now.

 

Aquib Nabi's strength is longer formats and he deserves a chance in Tests. His performance in T20s and IPL, especially when scores of 240+ are being chased for fun, is immaterial. This is making the same mistake our selectors make when they select likes of Sundar in T20s or SKY in Tests. Aquib Nabi has performed consistently in Ranji trophy and deserves a break in Tests. Determining his Test status on the back of IPL is idiocy. By the way same for Sarfaraz Khan and other Ranji performers who aren't suited to white-ball cricket.

[Manucrick]

auqib not made for t20 

[crictime]

On 4/30/2026 at 6:15 PM, Manucrick said:

auqib not made for t20 

He needs to bowl fast. The batsman nowadays even htt 155 kph for six, one wonders what the batsmen will do to a bowler who operates in 130 - 135 kph.

 

Of similar mould:

Ramakrishna Ghosh - CSK

Krish Bhagat - MI

Auqib Nabi - DC

 

and many others who are yet to make debut.

 

[Manucrick]

1 hour ago, crictime said:

He needs to bowl fast. The batsman nowadays even htt 155 kph for six, one wonders what the batsmen will do to a bowler who operates in 130 - 135 kph.

 

Of similar mould:

Ramakrishna Ghosh - CSK

Krish Bhagat - MI

Auqib Nabi - DC

 

and many others who are yet to make debut.

 

He got no skills for limited over on a swing condition he will be handy in test

[Ultimate_Game]

10 hours ago, crictime said:

He needs to bowl fast. The batsman nowadays even htt 155 kph for six, one wonders what the batsmen will do to a bowler who operates in 130 - 135 kph.

 

Of similar mould:

Ramakrishna Ghosh - CSK

Krish Bhagat - MI

Auqib Nabi - DC

 

and many others who are yet to make debut.

 

 

8 hours ago, Manucrick said:

He got no skills for limited over on a swing condition he will be handy in test

 

He's a Tests bowler and like Kamboj needs to be given chances in the longer format.

[rkt.india]

On 4/28/2026 at 11:21 PM, Ultimate_Game said:

Aquib Nabi is a long format bowler. He needs to be tried in Tests and not T20.

Pace is even more important in long format. You need to be bowling at least 135-142 to have any career in tests. 

[Suhaan]

On 5/3/2026 at 9:46 AM, crictime said:

He needs to bowl fast. The batsman nowadays even htt 155 kph for six, one wonders what the batsmen will do to a bowler who operates in 130 - 135 kph.

 

Of similar mould:

Ramakrishna Ghosh - CSK

Krish Bhagat - MI

Auqib Nabi - DC

 

and many others who are yet to make debut.

 

Batsmen these days have immense time to adjust,even on uber slower decks one can see genuine pace is troubling batsmen at certain lengths but one can score without worrying getting into awkward position while 130+ pacers operate,time to react is more

Batsmen are evolving with each passing league/season

Bowlers need external help to stay competitive 

[crictime]

21 hours ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

 

He's a Tests bowler and like Kamboj needs to be given chances in the longer format.

Personally, I would not waste my time watching these 135 kph bowlers bowl an over. So I am not bothered whether Anshul Kamboj gets a test debut or not. The ones who have more strength to do what a pace bowlers is supposed to do should survive and get the call. Not these weak pacers. Why don't these pacers take spin bowling if they do not have strength to bowl fast. The selectors give them a debut but I am least interested in their bowling. I would rather hope the batsmen at other end smash them for 18 or 28 runs in an over of these dibbly doobly pacers.

[crictime]

6 hours ago, Suhaan said:

Batsmen these days have immense time to adjust,even on uber slower decks one can see genuine pace is troubling batsmen at certain lengths but one can score without worrying getting into awkward position while 130+ pacers operate,time to react is more

Batsmen are evolving with each passing league/season

Bowlers need external help to stay competitive 

I feel batting is at worst nowadays in test format. Give a spicy wicket and a team will struggle to score even 150 as we saw when India and some other teams toured South Africa. The curator gets blamed for producing a wicket where batsmen get injured . Yes, we do not want someone to faint or die playing a cricket match, but the quaantity of wickets which are overtly in favor of batsmen are increasing. Was it last year when England scored 823 at Multan and then declared with 3 wickets still left. That was ridiculous.

 

Batsman have definitely evolved as you say, and the ramp shorts, switch hits etc validate this statement. The wickets are such that one can hit across the line. Can SKY survive even a proper spell in test cricket on a spicy wicket with a top bowler. Fancy shots and no look shots only look good when the boundaries are 57 metres away and the wicket is as hard as concrete. The real test of batsman is hardly taken and whenever batsmen face such a test, the scorecard is very sorry to see.

[tweaker]

Aquib has a chance to show he has capability to play in test.