“There was a time I didn’t favour my son enjoying cricket full-time. I noticed no future for him in it,” reveals Ghulam Nabi Dar, the daddy of Auqib Nabi, the younger participant from Kashmir who has made it to the Indian squad for the two-Take a look at collection towards Sri Lanka.
Dar, a authorities faculty instructor, modified his thoughts after gaining reassurance from the feats of former Crew India member Parvez Rasool, who in 2014 turned the primary Kashmiri cricketer to function within the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“When Parvez Rasool was chosen for IPL, our hopes had been kindled,” says Dar.
Auqib didn’t disappoint his father. He’s the primary participant from Kashmir to get an India Take a look at call-up. The best-arm pacer is the substitute for the injured Jasprit Bumrah. Sheeri, Auqib’s native village in north Kashmir, nestled between forests and the Jhelum river alongside the Baramulla-Uri nationwide freeway, has been celebrating ever since.
The 29-year-old Auqib can be solely the third from Jammu and Kashmir to be named within the nationwide squad, after Rasool and Umran Malik. That has been a protracted journey, from the time he developed curiosity in cricket at school 8, turned a fan of Rasool and labored arduous on his recreation regardless of his household’s meagre assets.
Dar facilitated Aquib’s common travels to Srinagar for cricket coaching. “On my insistence, Auqib additionally appeared twice for the MBBS entrance take a look at. However God had different plans for him. After finishing faculty, he took admission in BSc on the Amar Singh School in Srinagar,” says Dar.
From there on, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Affiliation (JKCA) got here into the image. After faculty lessons, Aquib would repeatedly practise on the JKCA pitches in Srinagar, says Dar, thanking his son’s coaches and mentors for his or her assist.
Auqib gained prominence with a stupendous efficiency within the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, wherein he took 60 wickets to assist the Jammu and Kashmir staff clinch the event title for the primary time. He instantly caught the eye of the nationwide selectors. Within the earlier Ranji Trophy season (2024-25), Aquib had emerged because the main pacer, with a 44-wicket haul.
“Aquib’s choice to the Take a look at squad is a proud second for any father or mother and a dream come true for him. He has labored arduous to earn his spot,” says Dar, describing the eldest of his three youngsters as a “easy, silent and hardworking” younger man. Auqib’s youthful brother and sister are pursuing post-graduation from totally different universities.
Auqib is amongst younger cricketers from Kashmir who’ve struggled with restricted sports activities infrastructure however neither given up their goals nor their recreation. His inspiration and mentor Rasool, a local of Bijbehara in south Kashmir, was the primary from the Kashmir Valley to make it to the nationwide degree. Rasikh Salam Dar emerged as one other rising star following his spectacular efficiency in IPL 2026, notably the decisive contribution to Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s title win.
Dar’s neighbour Zahoor Ahmad, who has watched Auqib develop up, recollects how as a boy he would play all by himself with a ball in his compound. “He had hearth within the stomach from a younger age. He would hold the ball on a rope and practise with it,” says Ahmad. “We’re wanting to see him carry out in Sri Lanka.” So is Kashmir.
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