Auqib Nabi will have to wait longer to make his debut for the India national cricket team as the selectors have announced the squad to tour Sri Lanka for the 2-match Test series without the best bowler of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season.
While the selectors chose spin bowling all-rounders like Saransh Jain, who was one of the most successful off-spinners in recent domestic tournaments, Nabi remained out of the running for selection.
4 reasons due to which Auqib Nabi was not selected in India’s test team
India already had enough fast bowling options
Every choice was based on a rational basis. Spinner Saransh Jain has been selected because of injured spinner Washington Sundar. If the selectors want to keep Auqib Nabi in the squad, they will have to leave out one of the frontline pacers of the recent Test set-up.
Four fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar have been included in the team for the Test series against Sri Lanka. Bumrah, Siraj and Krishna are experienced and proven fast bowlers for the Indian cricket team, and Brar has been impressive since making his debut for the team in this format.
Since all four current fast bowlers have legitimate reasons to be in the team, there is no way for the selectors to include Auqib Nabi in the squad, despite legitimate bowling performances for the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team in domestic tournaments.
It seems the selectors still value pace and physical attributes more than just domestic stats
Swing and control of line and length, both of which are the main tools in Oqib Nabi’s armoury, which have worked very well in Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments, as domestic matches in India are played on different grounds and in different conditions.
There is lack of pace in the bowling of Jammu and Kashmir’s fast bowler. Fast bowlers who have recently played for the India national cricket team, be it Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma, Prince Yadav or Mayank Yadav, all have been capable of bowling more than 140 balls consistently. Pace seems to be a matter of concern for national team selection these days.
IPL performance may have influenced perceptions
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked all its contracted players to join their respective state cricket teams in order to give priority to domestic cricket. Domestic tournaments, including the Ranji Trophy, are one of the gateways to entry into the national team, but not the only gateway.
If the selectors considered performance in IPL 2026 as a parameter for selection, then Nabi certainly did not fit into the selectors’ plans. The 29-year-old fast bowler made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals last season. Since he recorded 60 wickets at 12.65 in 17 innings in the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy season, expectations from him were high. But after playing 5 matches for Capitals in IPL, Aaqib Nabi could not take a single wicket and gave runs at an economy rate of 11.46.
India may have prioritized team balance over rewarding home form
Balancing the team is an important thing that the selectors had to do on paper while naming the candidates for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. Bumrah, Siraj and Krishna are pure pacers, not pace-bowling all-rounders. The same can be said about Gurnoor Brar, as his batting skills are yet to be tested at the international level. Nabi could only have been selected as an equal replacement, a fast bowler in place of another fast bowler. Who must be sacrificed to make room for the prophet Auqib?
It is worth noting that Jasprit Bumrah’s chances of playing the series remain uncertain because he is yet to prove his fitness. If Bumrah fails to regain his match fitness then the selectors will have to make changes.