The air of anticipation to see Aquib Nabi, announced as the Baramulla Expressin action at IPL 2026 is growing. On April 1 (next Wednesday), his Delhi Capitals team will begin chasing the elusive title in an away opener against Lucknow Super Giants and the prolific wicket-taker on the domestic scene is likely to have to play the central attacking role in the absence of Mitchell Starc.
It is not every day that an uncapped bowler, who is not a rookie at 29, fetches a price of no less than Rs 8.40 crore in his first auction. However, Dale Steyn’s admirer is not normally fast as he played a starring role in Jammu & Kashmir’s first Ranji Trophy crown for the 2025-26 season with 60 wickets at 12.65, making him Player of the Tournament. It was, of course, crowning glory for Nabi, who took 104 wickets in the last two Ranji seasons and had been making headlines in all formats.
How has Nabi’s life changed since last December, when Capitals tied him with a price unprecedented in the case of some of his peers who made the cut for IPL from J&K? ”It had been an emotional moment for my family since we were all at home watching the auction on television. There was quite a bit of celebration in my village, but life hasn’t really changed for me as soon after I was away, joining a camp for the Vijay Hazare Trophy the next day and then moved on to play against Ranji,” Nabi said, impassive.
