“To get 60 wickets is something incredible” - Devdutt Padikkal hails J&K pacer Auqib Nabi

Karnataka captain Devdutt Padikkal has heaped praise on the Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi, who scalped 60 wickets in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season, including his match-winning 5/54 in the grand finale against Karnataka as J&K took a massive lead of 291 in the first innings.

Advertisment

After putting up a show with the bat, scoring 584 runs in 173.1 overs in the first innings, J&K bowlers had a good outing on a flat track, courtesy of Nabi's exceptional lines and lengths. He scalped the wickets of KL Rahul (13), Karun Nair (0), Smaran Ravichandran (0), Mayank Agarwal (160), and Shikhar Shetty (0).

“We always understood the toss would play a big role, but at the end of the day it's a final, you know, the pressures of the final will be there regardless of what you do. It was up to us to really step up. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that and they played much better cricket than us,”  Padikkal said after the match.

“He (Auqib Nabi) has bowled exceptionally well throughout the season. Our batsmen have got a lot of runs as well, so we (had) backed ourselves to play out those spells as well. But at the end of the day, he just got the better of us and that's how it goes sometimes, when someone's having such a great season, it's not that easy to really negate that sort of performance from his side and really happy for him,” he stated.

“I feel to have a season like that to get 60 odd wickets is something incredible. He has put his heart and soul into the whole season and really happy for him as well,” the Karnataka skipper concluded. 

It took the J&K side 67 years to have their hands on the elusive silverware.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky247 India and download the Sky247 app to start betting today!

Advertisment