Record 60 wickets in Ranji Trophy 2025–26 earns the 29-year-old his maiden IPL contract with Delhi Capitals.
Auqib Nabi, a 29-year-old right-arm pacer from Jammu & Kashmir, finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy 2025–26 season, claiming 60 wickets in 10 matches at an average of approximately 12.5 and an economy rate close to 2.6 runs per over. He recorded seven five-wicket hauls and a best bowling figure of 7/24. His 5/54 in the Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka sealed Jammu & Kashmir’s first-ever Ranji Trophy title. Subsequently, in the IPL 2026 mini-auction, Delhi Capitals signed him as an uncapped domestic player for ₹8.4 crore.
Nabi’s Ranji journey was not an overnight phenomenon. He had already finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in 2024–25 before surpassing everyone in 2025–26. His 12 wickets across the knockout stages, which included two five-wicket hauls in the final rounds, made him the unquestioned driver of J&K’s historic championship run — a team that had never previously reached the top four in the tournament’s history. The final-stage dominance caught the attention of IPL franchises, and Delhi Capitals secured him at the mini-auction as one of the more significant domestic-pacer investments in recent memory. His IPL debut came against Chennai Super Kings, where he bowled two overs, conceded 17 runs, took no wickets, and scored 4 runs off two balls. Delhi Capitals lost that match by 23 runs.
Despite the modest IPL debut, the Delhi Capitals coaching staff and cricket experts have publicly backed Nabi, noting that he has a full season ahead and pointing to his demonstrated ability to perform under pressure in domestic cricket as a reason for confidence. No official statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the J&K Cricket Association regarding his national-team prospects has been included in verified source material available to NewsBreak24 at the time of publication.
Nabi’s story has gained significant traction across Indian cricket fan communities on social media platforms and sports forums, driven primarily by the combination of his record-breaking domestic season and the unexpectedly high IPL auction price for an uncapped player. Features in prominent cricket publications — including Wisden and ESPNcricinfo — alongside coverage in Indian daily sports sections further amplified his profile. Fan discussions have increasingly framed his journey as an inspiring case study for players from smaller, traditionally underrepresented cricket states, with each Delhi Capitals match in which he plays being closely followed and analysed.
Nabi’s record-breaking season places him in rare company in Indian first-class cricket history. According to reports by Wisden and ESPNcricinfo, he became only the second pacer to take eight five-wicket hauls in a single Ranji Trophy season, alongside Tamil Nadu’s L. Balaji. Jammu & Kashmir’s title win adds another layer of significance — the team had never previously reached the top four in the Ranji Trophy before the 2025–26 season, making this championship their most historic achievement in domestic cricket. For a state long considered the periphery of Indian cricket, Nabi’s emergence as a match-winner on the biggest domestic stage represents a shift that fans and analysts have been quick to note.
NewsBreak24 has verified the statistical claims in this report — including wicket tally, bowling average, IPL deal value, and debut match figures — against publicly available data from Wisden, ESPNcricinfo, and IPL auction records. The claim that Nabi is only the second pacer in Indian first-class history to take eight five-wicket hauls in a single season has not been independently cross-verified by NewsBreak24 against official scorecards. Analyst comparisons to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami represent expert opinion and not official assessments. No national team selection or BCCI announcement has been made at the time of publication.
Fact-check box
Confirmed
- Auqib Nabi is a 29-year-old right-arm pacer from Jammu & Kashmir
- He was the leading wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy 2025–26 with 60 wickets in 10 matches
- Bowling average approximately 12.5–12.7; economy approximately 2.6–2.7
- He recorded seven five-wicket hauls and a best of 7/24
- He took 5/54 in the Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka
- Jammu & Kashmir won their maiden Ranji Trophy title in 2025–26
- Delhi Capitals signed him for ₹8.4 crore as an uncapped player at IPL 2026 mini-auction
- His IPL debut vs CSK: 2 overs, 17 runs, 0 wickets; DC lost by 23 runs
- He was the second-highest wicket-taker in Ranji 2024–25 before topping the charts in 2025–26
- His story has been covered by Wisden and ESPNcricinfo
Not yet confirmed
- Claim that he is “only the second pacer in Indian first-class history” to take eight five-fers in a single season — not independently verified by NewsBreak24
- Comparisons to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami are fan/analyst opinion, not official assessments
- Any India national team call-up or BCCI consideration — no official source cited
- Specific match-by-match knockout wicket tallies (12 wickets across knockouts) are reported but not cross-verified against official scorecards
