Auqib Nabi Dar: The Baramulla Express Who Brought J&K Its First Ranji Trophy and Earned ₹8.40 Crore from Delhi Capitals

On February 28, 2026, at the KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground, Auqib Nabi Dar tore through Karnataka’s batting lineup with a five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy final. Jammu & Kashmir won the match and, in doing so, claimed their first Ranji Trophy title in the tournament’s 67-year history. The town of Sheeri, in Baramulla district, erupted in celebration. Drums were beaten in the streets. Sweets were distributed. And the name on everyone’s lips was that of a 29-year-old right-arm fast-medium bowler who had been told, three years running, that he was not good enough for the Under-19 trials.

That is the story of Auqib Nabi Dar — the “Baramulla Express.” It is a story of patience, rejection, persistence, and an absolute refusal to give up on a dream that most of the world had written off.

Early Life: From Curfew-Hit Streets to Cricket Grounds

Auqib Nabi Dar was born on 4 November 1996 in Sheeri, Baramulla, Jammu & Kashmir — a region where cricket has historically been played in the shadow of conflict, infrastructure challenges, and limited exposure to the mainstream Indian cricketing system. His father, Ghulam Nabi Dar, worked as a government school teacher and, like many parents in the region, initially envisioned a conventional professional path for his son.

Cricket, in Auqib’s telling, was not even his first love. “I used to play tennis-ball cricket for fun. I had a friend who went for a JKCA trial but wasn’t selected. I was never that interested in cricket. He insisted, and when he told me stories of the camps, it interested me,” he told a reporter. When he went for his first formal trial, he was rejected — and then rejected again the following year. And the year after that.

It took until 2016 — his final Under-19 year — for Auqib to break through, earning selection for the four-day Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy matches. It was a moment of clarity: “When I played the Cooch Behar Trophy, I made up my mind that this is what I want to do.” From that point, his journey had direction.

The Influence of Irfan Pathan

When Auqib made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2020, Jammu & Kashmir had a significant presence in their setup: former India left-arm swing bowler Irfan Pathan. Auqib credits Pathan with shaping his bowling in those early days. “When I made my Ranji Trophy debut, we had Irfan Pathan with us. He gave me a lot of useful tips related to bowling. He was the first one who told me to work on my wrist and not change anything.” That technical refinement from a legend of Indian swing bowling proved invaluable.

His bowling idol, meanwhile, is Dale Steyn. “Growing up, he was my idol,” Auqib has said, and watching videos of Steyn’s bowling action was a formative experience in developing his own rhythmic, high-action approach.

Domestic Career: A Decade of Building, Quietly

List A Debut (2018)

Auqib made his List A debut for Jammu & Kashmir in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 23 September 2018 — the beginning of a long-distance journey towards national recognition.

First-Class Debut (2020)

His first-class debut came on 3 January 2020 against Jammu & Kashmir’s opponents in the Ranji Trophy. Within days of his debut, he announced himself with 5/39 against Odisha — a five-wicket haul on debut that confirmed his red-ball credentials. Five-wicket hauls would become a recurring theme throughout his career.

2024-25 Ranji Trophy: The Breakout Season

This was the season that put Auqib on the national radar. He took 44 wickets in the 2024-25 Ranji season — the second-most by any bowler in the competition that year — at a strike-rate of 30.47 and an average of just 13.93. His best figures that season came in October 2024: 5/29 against Services, helping J&K bowl them out for 71. No Indian pacer was more consistently damaging in red-ball cricket that year.

Duleep Trophy 2025-26: Making History

Playing for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy, Auqib created a piece of cricket history by taking four wickets in four consecutive balls — the first time this had ever been achieved in the Duleep Trophy’s history. That four-for against East Zone confirmed his ability to be match-winning in any situation.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26

In the SMAT, Auqib took 11 wickets from five matches at an average of 13.54, with a stand-out performance of 4/16 against Bihar. His T20 record shows 40 wickets overall — not a huge number by IPL-standard comparison, but one earned through skill and adaptability rather than natural pace alone.

Ranji Trophy 2025-26: The Championship Season

This was the crowning achievement of Auqib Nabi’s domestic career before the IPL. He took 60 wickets across the entire Ranji Trophy season — the first fast bowler to cross 50 wickets in a single campaign — at an average of around 12.54. In the semi-final against Bengal, he took five wickets in the first innings and four in the second, also contributing a crucial 42 with the bat. Against Karnataka in the final, he took a five-wicket haul to seal J&K’s historic title.

The legend of the “Summer of Auqib” — as Cricket Times called it — had been written.

Career Statistics at a Glance

The IPL 2026 Auction: A ₹8.40 Crore Moment

Auqib entered the auction at his base price of ₹30 lakh — an almost comically low figure for a bowler who had taken more Ranji wickets than anyone in Indian cricket that year. The bidding immediately reflected the gap between his listed price and his actual value: Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Rajasthan Royals all entered a four-way battle before DC secured him for ₹8.40 crore.

Back in Baramulla, the moment was met with scenes of jubilation. Family, friends, and neighbours gathered in the streets, drumming, dancing, and distributing sweets. For a region that has historically produced very few cricketers at this level of visibility, Auqib Nabi’s IPL deal was more than a personal achievement — it was a cultural landmark.

As the author of his own journey at Cricket Times put it, his story is one of triumph over adversity from “the curfew-hit streets of North Kashmir to one of the most expensive uncapped players in the IPL 2026 auction.”

Playing Style: Control, Swing, and the Ability to Bowl Long

Auqib operates between 125-135 kmph — not genuinely express pace, but that misses the point entirely. His game is built around:

• Swing bowling: He can move the ball both ways, making him difficult to read
• Line and length control: Especially effective with the new ball in red-ball cricket, he can maintain consistent pressure through long spells
• Death-over execution: In white-ball formats, he focuses on control rather than pace, making him hard to score off
• Batting contribution: 870 first-class runs including a half-century, and that crucial 42 in the Ranji semi-final, confirm he is a genuine batting all-rounder

The fact that Sourav Ganguly publicly called for his inclusion in India’s Test squad for the England tour shows how seriously the cricketing establishment is viewing his form.

What Lies Ahead

At Delhi Capitals, Auqib joins a squad that includes established pace options like Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi, and Kuldeep Yadav. His role initially is likely to be that of a reliable seam-bowling option who can take wickets in the powerplay and execute plans in the death overs. If his domestic adaptability translates to the shorter format — and given the quality of his red-ball record, there’s no reason to doubt it — he has the potential to be one of the revelations of IPL 2026.

Further Reading

• Sahil Parakh: Auqib’s New Delhi Capitals Teammate
• Prashant Veer: Another Record-Breaker from the 2026 Auction
• IPL 2026 Debutants: The Complete Guide

Sources: Wikipedia | Cricket Times | Sunday Guardian | CricWiki