{"id":446933,"date":"2026-02-26T16:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/446933\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:13:13","slug":"auqib-nabi-sends-bold-india-selection-message-to-ajit-agarkar-removes-kl-rahul-karun-nair-strikes-thrice-in-23-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/446933\/","title":{"rendered":"Auqib Nabi sends bold India selection message to Ajit Agarkar; removes KL Rahul, Karun Nair, strikes thrice in 23 balls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi wreaked havoc on Thursday as his fiery opening spell sent Karnataka crashing to 57 for 4 inside 18 overs in their attempt to match J&K’s imposing first-innings total of 584 at the KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground. Nabi struck three times in 23 balls, dismissing seasoned India batters KL Rahul<\/a> and Karun Nair<\/a>, along with Smaran Ravichandran, including two wickets in successive deliveries.<\/p>\n

\"JammuJammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi, left, celebrates after taking the wicket of Karnataka’s Karun Nair during Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final (PTI)<\/p>\n

The right-arm quick provided the first breakthrough in the 12th over, removing Rahul with a skiddy back-of-a-length delivery on off stump that straightened after pitching. Squared up in the crease, Rahul attempted to fend it away with an angled bat, only to edge it to close-in fielder Kanhaiya Wadhawan.<\/p>\n

Karnataka vs Jammu & Kashmir Ranji Trophy Final LIVE Score<\/a><\/p>\n

Two overs later, Nabi returned to deliver a double blow. Nair was undone by a beauty that zipped past the outside edge and rattled the off stump for a duck. Ravichandran followed immediately, poking tentatively at a delivery that shaped away late; the outside edge once again flew to Wadhawan, who made no mistake.<\/p>\n

The electrifying spell set social media abuzz, with many rallying behind the 29-year-old for an India call-up ahead of upcoming Test assignments. In 17 innings this season, during which Jammu and Kashmir scripted a fairytale run to their maiden Ranji Trophy final, Nabi has claimed 58 wickets at a staggering average of 12.46, including six five-wicket hauls. He is currently the second-highest wicket-taker this season and needs just two more scalps to surpass Uttarakhand\u2019s Mayank Mishra (59 wickets in 16 innings).<\/p>\n

Can Nabi break into the Indian team?<\/p>\n

Over the past five years, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have carried India\u2019s pace attack in Tests. Siraj has featured in 45 of India\u2019s 58 matches since 2020, while injury-prone Bumrah has managed 40 appearances.<\/p>\n

With Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma no longer in the picture, and the selection committee showing reluctance to immediately reinstate a fit-again Mohammed Shami , who has taken 37 wickets in 13 Ranji innings this season , India have tested several fast bowlers. Of those, only Akash Deep has managed to cement his place.<\/p>\n

India are set to tour New Zealand in October for a two-Test series, and Nabi\u2019s ability to generate movement both in the air and off the surface could make him a compelling option. The selectors are likely to first test him at the India A level before making any major decision, but if his current form continues, the knock on the national door may soon grow louder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi wreaked havoc on Thursday as his fiery opening spell sent Karnataka…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49699,162165,1721,162167,7055,162166,160645,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-446933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-auqib-nabi","9":"tag-auqib-nabi-wickets","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-karnataka-vs-jammu-and-kashmir","12":"tag-kl-rahul","13":"tag-kraun-nair","14":"tag-ranji-trophy-final","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}