Auqib Nabi on his way to national colours: Sourav Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday showered praise on Jammu and Kashmir for their exploits against Karnataka in their maiden Ranji Trophy final, picking out pacer Auqib Nabi as a player who deserves to represent the country. Nabi has claimed 60 wickets so far in this Ranji season, including five for 54 against Karnataka in the first innings of the final. Nabi’s exploits put J&K in control as they bowled out the eight-time winners Karnataka for 293 in 93.3 overs after posting a massive 584 in Hubballi.

“J&K has shown the world what effort and intent can do. They have made that region so proud of them. Tuff environment makes tuff people,” Ganguly wrote on ‘X’. “Aqib Nabi is on his way to national colours... England is the place to start in the summer,” (sic) he added, tagging the BCCI, senior men’s selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. Resuming Day 4 at 220 for five, Karnataka lost their last five wickets for 73 runs, with Nabi dismissing their top batter Mayank Agarwal (160) and also claiming the wicket of Shikhar Shetty. J&K thus secured a vital 291-run first-innings lead.