For a few seasons now, Jammu & Kashmir's Auqib Nabi, 29, has taught himself to expect nothing from the IPL auction. And yet, as December 16 approaches, even he admits things feel a little different ahead of the auction for 2026.
"It feels different, but I'm not able to point a finger to any one specific reason," Nabi tells ESPNcricinfo. "Finally that moment is here… but you can't tell anything. If it doesn't happen, it's fine. I'm used to it. I'll work even harder."
These are familiar words if you've spoken to anyone on the fringes of the IPL. But Nabi is earnest and unmistakably pragmatic. While he is firmly anchored to the belief that nothing in cricket is guaranteed, he allows himself one concession: "This year… there's some excitement." And there's a good reason.
Nabi has picked up 15 wickets in seven matches so far at the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) at an economy rate of 7.41. In his most recent outing earlier this week, against Madhya Pradesh, he contributed a cameo 32 off 21 balls with the bat that helped set up a defendable total, before returning with a crucial three-wicket haul to seal the game for J&K.
The SMAT performances came on the back of an exceptional start to the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, where he was the only seamer among the top-five wicket-takers in the first half of the season. His 29 wickets in nine innings included three five-fors and a stunning 7 for 24 against Rajasthan, helping J&K guarantee themselves a knockouts berth.
Those numbers merely extended the dominance he showed in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, when he finished with 44 wickets at a remarkable average of 13.93. No seamer in the country came close - the next best managed 35 wickets - and only Vidarbha's left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Harsh Dubey bettered Nabi's tally with a record-breaking 69 wickets.
"I keep alternating between deleting social media apps and installing them just to post and get out" Auqib Nabi
On the back of this rich haul, Nabi was picked in the North Zone squad for the season-opening Duleep Trophy, where he announced himself with four wickets in four balls. Yet, even as Nabi's domestic record has grown more compelling with each passing season, his continued absence from India A squads has been a talking point within the cricketing ecosystem.
"It's very tough when you keep performing well and still get no recognition," Nabi says. "It's deflating. But it has taught me to be mentally strong. It's on the individual how to handle this. No one can teach you."
Nabi underlines how social media posts - from family, friends and well-wishers who look at his numbers and assume a breakthrough is imminent - has amplified expectations. "I try to keep my focus on matches. I don't think about selection or results. I live in the present, not the future or past. But how can I tell this to my family or friends who think 'is baar ho jayega' [it will happen this time]?
"To them, it's the numbers [which matter]. To me, it's performances that I've put in. But also luck is a big thing. Trials are a tough place. You're competing with so many. When you bowl, who is watching, how many balls you get - all this makes a difference. Sometimes, you have to achieve certain targets, even if it may seem unrealistic. There are so many things that go into being picked in the shortlist from some one-thousand names and then for your name to be called out."
"[During] Ranji last season, nobody even spoke of me. I had six five-fors, and was among the best pacers. But it was only after this Duleep [Trophy] match where I took four [wickets] in four [balls] that I got the recognition. Even though it was in a red-ball match, a record is a record."
Suddenly, teams were calling. Trials followed with Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. A few others were in the pipeline, but clashed with SMAT games.
"All the trials went well. Let's see [what happens] on the 16th," Nabi says with a shrug. He doesn't even know if he will watch the auction. "I prefer not to think a lot about it. I may not even watch it. I don't know; it's so hard to say how it'll be on that day."
What has sustained him through these years is his skill. Nabi isn't obsessed with the speed gun, even though he plays in a region that has produced Umran Malik. He knows his value lies elsewhere.
Nabi's natural delivery is the outswinger to the right-hand batter, but he has worked hard to master the inswinger too, spending two seasons honing the ability to move the ball both ways with control. The work has extended to T20 skills - yorkers, wide yorkers, slower bouncers, as well as the discipline of bowling with the new ball and at the death.
"You need to keep evolving," he says. Through it all, fitness has never abandoned him. "I'm blessed that way, because I've never looked at fitness as something extra; it's part of my conditioning. That's why long spells have never been an issue."
Nabi credits J&K bowling coach P Krishna Kumar for guiding him through the nuances of red-ball and white-ball bowling, and helping him understand his game better. But perhaps the biggest shift has come from the improvements within the J&K cricket ecosystem.
"Earlier, before Ranji, there wasn't much build-up. I used to play club cricket in Bangalore, which can be tough for an outsider. Now we have camps, matches, wickets, practice games. There's a system in place."
Coming from a background where even a proper pitch to bowl on and wearing spikes, didn't exist, the difference is immense. "Where I come from, in Baramulla, there's no set-up. I had to bowl from a short run-up. Even now, if I have to train, I go to Srinagar or Jammu. These are the two places."
The competitive mindset has changed too. A decade ago, merely competing with big teams was treated like an achievement. Today, the belief is different. "Last four-five years, we've developed that mindset. Competing is not good enough. We can beat anyone. It starts from there."
Former J&K captain and allrounder Parvez Rasool sowed those seeds of belief when, in 2015, he became the first player from J&K to represent India. Malik has shown what raw pace can do. Abdul Samad and Rasikh Salam have seen intermittent IPL success. Young players in J&K now allow themselves to dream big.
Nabi himself remains deeply committed to that dream, but he also holds another one close: winning a domestic title for J&K.
"I'll be happiest if I can help my team win a title," he says. Conversations with senior players like Arshdeep Singh during the Duleep Trophy have reinforced what he already believed: follow the process, trust the work, stay true to your routines, and results will follow.
Nabi has been hardened by the domestic grind over the years, but when expectations from outside get too much, he cuts himself off. "I keep alternating between deleting social media apps and installing them just to post and get out," he says with a hint of a laugh.
Nabi's performances over the last 18 months are now slowly being talked about. His name is circulating in the right places. Yet, he is guarded: "If it happens, great. If not, I'll go back to work. But yes… this year, there's excitement."