Just saw the squad announcement for upcoming Afghanistan test and honestly,something is not sitting right with me about Auqib Nabi's situation.
This guy,a fast-bowler from Jammu & Kashmir,had an amazing Ranji Trophy season . We are talking about 60 wickets ah,he basically led his team to victory. That's not small thing. And for that,his reward is to be a net bowler for Indian team.
And I get it,being a net bowler is good exposure . But at same time,selectors chose Gurnoor Brar from Punjab as backup pacer along with Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna . So one guy with a standout performance is bowling in nets,while another gets backup spot .
Honestly,this is where it gets confusing for me.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar did give a reason . He said, "You do not necessarily pick a lot of seamers when you pick a Test team in India". I understand logic,Indian pitches are spin-friendly. But still,60 wickets feels like it should count for more than just practice bowling.
Anyway,let's look at some other details for this one-off Test:
- Shubman Gill as captain — young batsman will lead the Indian side in this important fixture.
- New faces in the squad — Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar and all-rounder Harsh Dubey also received maiden call-ups.
- Spin bowling duties — With Ravindra Jadeja rested,Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar will manage spin bowling responsibilities.
This match is scheduled from June 6-10 in New Chandigarh . And it’s only the second Test ever between India and Afghanistan. The last one was way back in 2018,which India won by an innings and 262 runs .
But this time,the match is not part of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle . So it's basically standalone game . Maybe that’s why they are experimenting so much with the squad,giving new people chances .
So yes,Auqib Nabi gets to be around team,practice with top players,and that will surely help him . But you can't help but feel for the guy. Performing so well in domestic cricket and still just being on the sidelines must be tough.
It just makes you wonder what exact thinking is behind these selections… what is that final step a player needs to take to break into the main team…
