If there was a combination of two deliveries that explained the hype around Aqib Nabi, the 27-year-old Jammu and Kashmir right-hander, on the domestic circuit, it came in the 63rd over of Delhi’s innings during a Ranji Trophy match at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Saturday.
After a wicket with the new ball, Nabi came back for a while and caught Anuj Rawat by moving the ball outside to catch the left-hander’s edge. In his next attempt, he shaped one to the perfect Test length, taking the ball away from right-hander Hrithik Shokin late on and grabbing his glove. The next over, he bowled a ferocious delivery – making the ball swing backwards when it was older and softer – which crushed the front toe of debutant Manan Bhardwaj.
Making the ball move in both directions smoothly, with commendable accuracy of length, was his hallmark. He allowed 44 wickets last season as J&K reached the quarter-finals. Against the background of this, he was selected for the Duleep Cup team for the Northern Region, where he scored a hat-trick against the Eastern Region and scored five goals. He has started this season strongly, with 24 wickets to his name already.
His match-winning potential was on display once again after his excellent late form propelled him to his fifth goal of this Ranji season in just four matches. Nabi bowled 16 overs in total, finishing with 5 for 35 and playing a central role as Delhi were bundled out for 211 on the first day in the national capital.
“Playing with the outside and inside ball is something I have worked on a lot over the last two years. On a wicket like this, you needed to find something. There was help with the new ball but then it fell flat,” Nabi told reporters here on Saturday.
J&K won the toss on a cold early winter morning in Delhi and chose to bowl with the expectation that conditions would play flat and slow like the last two matches here. But there was more going on for the bowlers on Saturday than usual when the ball was new.
The visitors reduced Delhi to 14/3 before skipper Aayush Badoni, Ayush Duseja and Sumit Mathur reached fifties. But Nabi’s reverse swing abilities quickly weakened Delhi’s lower order. In reply, J&K themselves were left barely hanging on at 31/3 at stumps. Delhi fast bowler Simarjit Singh dismissed all three with the new ball.
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But being able to do so when the track is sleepy is where Nabi believes he has the advantage. “India has some of the best bowlers: Bumrah, Siraj and Shami. They are the best at bowling on Indian pitches. I often follow them closely and watch their videos to know how to get wickets on flat pitches,” he said.
The Kashmir Valley-based pacer, who was born and brought up in Baramulla, has now taken 75 wickets since the start of last season, making him the highest wicket-taker among all fast bowlers in the Ranji Trophy in that period. However, he did not seem to feature in the scheme of things for the national team, as he failed to be selected for the India ‘A’ team in the ongoing series against South Africa ‘A’. He has a good record with the white ball too; 42 wickets in 29 List A matches and 28 in 27 T20s for J&K. However, despite some experimentation, an IPL contract eluded him.
The star against it is speed. His deliveries remain in the 125-135km/h range, not the kind of pace that will make selectors immediately take notice. But he is not discouraged by his luck.
“If it’s not in my interest that I don’t throw the ball too fast, it’s in my interest that I can move the ball in both directions. Not everyone can do that,” he joked.
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Summary scores: Delhi’s 211 all out in 69 overs (Dosiga 65, Badoni 64; Prophet 5/35) leads Jammu and Kashmir’s 31/3 (Simarjit 3/14) by 180 runs.
(Tags for translation) Aqib Nabi
