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Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has supported the national selectors’ bold decision to select young fast bowler Prince Yadav in place of Jammu and Kashmir star Auqib Nabi in the Indian team for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan starting June 6 in New Chandigarh.
The former Indian captain admitted that Oqib deserved an India call up for his excellent performances in red-ball cricket in recent Ranji seasons, but he also praised the selectors for showing courage and investing in genuine fast bowling talent.
Sourav Ganguly backs selectors to pick Prince Yadav over Auqib Nabi for IND vs AFG Test
Auqib Nabi has been delivering record-breaking performances in the Ranji Trophy over the past few seasons, but Sourav Ganguly feels the selectors have made the right decision in rewarding Prince Yadav for the one-off Test against Afghanistan at home because of his pace and aggressive bowling style.
Also read: “Tremendous injustice”: Sanjay Manjrekar angry over Auqib Nabi being ignored despite stellar performance in Ranji Trophy season
Jammu and Kashmir’s domestic season was a dream season for Nabi. The right-arm fast bowler was the leading wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy with 60 wickets and played a big role in helping his team win its first Ranji title. He troubled the batsmen with swing, accuracy and discipline throughout the tournament and even bowled several match-winning spells in the knockout games.
Auqib Nabi vs Prince Yadav
In the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, Auqib took more than 100 wickets and became one of the greatest match-winners in domestic cricket. But despite those stats, the selectors decided to go with Prince Yadav for the upcoming Afghanistan Test.
The young Delhi fast bowler had a stellar IPL season for Lucknow Supergiants, where he impressed everyone with his pace, bounce, yorkers and fearless bowling in pressure situations. Prince took 16 wickets in IPL 2026 and regularly bowled balls above 140 kmph.
Even though he played only two first-class matches, the selectors saw him as a special fast bowling talent, with qualities that could trouble batsmen at the highest level. And Ganguly believes that modern cricket is changing rapidly and bowlers with genuine pace are becoming extremely valuable.
The selectors have done a great job: Sourav Ganguly
The veteran further said that the selectors cannot keep such fast bowlers waiting for too long in domestic cricket, but at the same time he believes that due to his performance in the Ranji Trophy, Nabi should have been selected in the squad for the Afghanistan Test as well.
Also read: Rajat Patidar became a threat to Shreyas Iyer, the veteran cricketer made a bold call to Team India.
The Times of India quoted Sourav Ganguly as saying, “Nabi should have been in the squad (for the Afghanistan series). He bowled brilliantly in the Ranji Trophy. But Prince Yadav is also talented and he is very fast. I think the selectors have done a wonderful job by giving Prince a chance to play, because when you have pace, you don’t keep them in the first-class. I think both of them should have been selected.”
T20 cricket has completely changed: Ganguly
Ganguly also admitted that the previous generation was playing T20 cricket differently than these modern-era batsmen as they never imagined that it would become so big after 25 years.
The former BCCI president also pointed out that the game keeps changing with every generation, and T20 cricket is now a permanent part of the game and will continue to produce powerful batsmen who love to hit sixes.