Amid the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Delhi Capitals’ fast bowler Auqib Nabi has cited massive credit to former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and Parvez Rasool for his rapid rise at the top level of cricket. The Jammu and Kashmir cricketer believes that without the support of his mentors, he would not have become what he is today.
During a recent interaction, Nabi also delved into his journey of picking up cricket as his first love from a very tender age. He also mentioned how South Africa’s legendary speedster Dale Steyn inspired him to choose pace bowling with a dream of representing the country. Nabi also shared how, despite lack of family support where his father wanted him to become a doctor instead, he persisted with his cricketing dream.
“I started playing cricket with tennis balls when I was in 5th or 6th grade. There was no specific place in Baramulla for practice. So we used to play on the road or on a small school ground. I used to watch Dale Steyn a lot when I was young. The way he swung the ball at such a high pace inspired me to become a fast bowler and hopefully play for India one day. I used to get scolded a lot by my father for constantly playing cricket because I didn’t have his support. He wanted me to become a doctor,” Nabi told via JioStar.
For the unversed, Pravez Rasool became the first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to play at the international level. Nabi, who came into the J&K setup during the twilight years of Rasool, said that someone from the state playing for the Indian team was a massive inspiration for him and all the budding cricketers back home.
“Parvez Rasool made his debut for India by performing well for RCB in the IPL. I was very motivated to play for India after seeing him do that. Parvez bhai is one of us, hailing from a local village in Jammu and Kashmir. I made my mark for the first time during my Under-19 days when I was chosen for trials of the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team. I didn’t have spike shoes at that time, so I borrowed shoes from a senior. He had his trials in the first half, and I had mine in the second half. I made my junior debut for Jammu and Kashmir by wearing spikes that I had borrowed from a friend,” he said.
Regarding Irfan, Nabi also informed how the steps were taken by the former India all-rounder to help Nabi earn recognition. Nabi also said that the Baroda-born used to forward a lot of tips to him, and being his mentee at J&K, he learned a lot and eventually grew stronger in his game.
“When Irfan bhai joined as mentor of Jammu and Kashmir, I was in the under-23 team, and my performances there got his attention. He helped me make my debut for the Jammu and Kashmir senior team. He used to guide me a lot by giving me tips and was very helpful. He is a legend of Team India, and I had a great experience with Irfan bhai,” the Baramulla-born said.
I saw Nabi for first time in 2018: Irfan Pathan
Meanwhile, the former India all-rounder also recalled the time when he initially saw Nabi, who was slowly rising through the ranks to break into the senior side. The cricketer-turned-commentator further said how massive of an impression Nabi left on him with his ability to extract late movement out of the cricket ball.
“I saw Auqib Nabi for the first time in 2018. When I was the mentor of the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team, we wanted to have a strong group of eight to ten fast bowlers. We wanted to make a big group and Auqib was one of the key fast bowlers. When I saw him for the first time, the most important thing was that he used to bowl long spells, especially in Under-23 and junior cricket. He was very impressive. Secondly, his ability to move the ball late was very impressive.”
Nabi seems in line to be making his IPL debut during the upcoming Match 8 of the tournament between DC and Mumbai Indians. The game will be played on Saturday, April 4, in an afternoon fixture, and it will be interesting to see if Nabi is handed his maiden cap to represent his franchise in the biggest cricketing extravaganza.
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