It took one auction paddle and ₹8.4 crore for half the country to suddenly discover Auqib Nabi. That, in essence, is what Sunil Gavaskar is questioning. He had already been tearing through batting line-ups all season in the Ranji Trophy. The wickets were there. The spells were there. The match-winning performances were there. What changed was the spotlight.
That shift in attention is exactly what Sunil Gavaskar is questioning. His argument is, why does a Ranji performer start feeling important only after an IPL franchise flashes a cheque? Why does domestic excellence need a price tag to feel relevant? He is questioning the ecosystem around cricket. The recognition came but did it come because of performance or because of the auction room?
At the IPL 2026 auction, Delhi Capitals outbid three franchises to sign Nabi for 28 times his base price. He landed a deal of INR 8.4 crore. Since then, his name has featured prominently in discussions. But Gavaskar wonders whether the coverage would have been the same without that payday.
“Where are the stories of players like Ravichandran Smaran, Ayush Doseja, Sanat Sangwan, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Abhinav Tejrana, Siddhesh Lad, Aman Mokhade, Armaan Jaffer and Kunal Chandela, who have all scored over 700 runs this year?” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“Where are the write-ups on Mayank Mishra and Siddharth Desai, to name two bowlers who have taken more than 40 wickets this season? Yes, there have been write-ups about Auqib Nabi. But could that be because he was snapped up in the IPL auction? If that had not happened, he, too, would perhaps have been ignored. Like the names mentioned above,” he added.
Auqib Nabi’s number that demand attention
To be fair, Nabi’s numbers scream headline. He has picked up 55 wickets in 16 innings this season at an average of 12.72, striking every 28.50 balls. Only Uttarakhand’s Mayank Mishra stands ahead of him on the wicket charts, and Nabi needs just five more wickets to top the list. The last fast bowler to finish as the highest wicket-taker in a Ranji season was Jaydev Unadkat in 2019-20.
In the knockout stages, Nabi has been relentless as well, taking nine wickets in the semi-final and 12 in the quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh. With the bat, he has chipped in too, including a century against Hyderabad and a crucial 42 in the semi-final. Truly, Delhi Capitals have got a gem in Nabi, who is currently playing his maiden Ranji Trophy final for J&K against Karnataka.
“The Ranji Trophy is the National Championship and should therefore be given prominence. Perhaps because the players are not always on television, like the U-19 and IPL boys, their efforts do not get the gushing headlines that others receive. Then there is the lament that U-19 World Cups and the IPL are a shortcut to the India cap.
“But who is to be blamed? Only the selectors? Or also those who sideline Ranji Trophy performers to some remote corner of their papers, or do not even mention them on their television shows and public media platforms? With India on the back foot in the World Cup, hopefully, the Ranji Trophy final will get more coverage. Or is that too much to hope for?”
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