Jammu & Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi has set the domestic circuit on fire. (BCCI)

Nabi tells TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview

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'Change in Qismat'

In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, Auqib Nabi picked up 44 wickets in eight matches — the second-most in the season. (PTI File Photo)

A late bloomer

Auqib Nabi has started the 2025-26 season with 17 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls. (PTI)

The Parvez Rasool impact

File photo of Parvez Rasool.

Borrowed spikes, one dream

Auqib Nabi wants to play for India, and the way he is taking wickets, the “Dale Steyn of Baramulla” may not be far from an India call-up. (PTI)

Destiny bound

Barring playing for India, Nabi’s distant dream is to open a cricket academy in Baramulla, where he can nurture more Auqibs. (PTI)

New Delhi: Growing up in a curfew-stricken Baramulla, Auqib Nabi’s pastime was imitating Dale Steyn’s bowling action. He calls the South African legend a “khoobsurat gendbaaz (beautiful bowler). ”“Growing up, he was my idol. I loved his action and his wicket celebrations. I used to watch Dale Steyn’s bowling a lot. Everything about his bowling was poetry,”The 28-year-old is making waves with the red ball in India’s domestic circuit. In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, he picked up 44 wickets in eight matches — the second-most in the season.