Parvez Rasool: 'Auqib Nabi has given J&K a new sporting identity'

Irfan Pathan, Samiullah Beigh and coach Ajay Sharma all hail J&K's first-ever Ranji win

Shashank Kishore

Published: Feb 28, 2026, 12:49 PM (4 hrs ago)

"Auqib, hum tumhare karzdaar hain" ("Auqib, we're indebted to you")

This was Parvez Rasool, Jammu & Kashmir's former captain, paying the ultimate tribute to Auqib Nabi, who capped a victorious Ranji Trophy campaign with 60 wickets, including 26 in the knockouts alone. Six years ago, Rasool handed Auqib Nabi his maiden Ranji Trophy cap in January 2020. Now after J&K's maiden Ranji Trophy victory, he echoed the sentiments of the region.

Rasool last played for J&K in 2022, but his heart still beats for the players. He was scheduled to travel from Bijbehara, his hometown, to Srinagar for some engagements on Saturday afternoon. Because he wasn't quite sure when the game would end, so he left early to ensure he wouldn't miss the winning moment.

Rasool is currently associated in coaching with the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council. He heads the South Kashmir Cricket Academy in Bijbehara, a facility he built from his IPL earnings during a decade-long playing career. Over the past two weeks alone, he's heard kids come up to him saying they want to bowl like Nabi.

"When have we heard one player from J&K get so much attention? It's better late than never. Auqib has made us proud, and made his family proud. He and the entire team have given our state a new sporting identity."

Over in Mumbai, Irfan Pathan has been receiving congratulatory calls from several quarters. He is currently doing commentary work at the T20 World Cup, but has keenly followed the Ranji action from Hubballi over the past five days.

In 2019-20, Pathan was named mentor by the erstwhile JKCA administration. Under him, a number of young players made their first-class debuts - notably, Abdul Samad and Nabi himself. He also backed a young Rasikh Dar, who was later banned for age-fraud.

Lack of red-soil surfaces in J&K forced Pathan to think out of the box. He moved the entire team to Baroda for training at the Moti Baug grounds during the off-season. Pathan has moved on, and while administrations that have come in afterwards haven't always acknowledged the predecessors, he holds no ill-will.

"It's been five years since I left J&K cricket, but the win feels so personal," he says. "I remember when I first went there, Rasikh Dar came to our first trial along with six of his cousins and said, 'they all want to play just like me'. And he'd just come off a maiden IPL stint with Mumbai Indians.

"If that was the effect one person playing in the IPL had, imagine the effect J&K winning the Ranji Trophy would? This will give them an identity. I haven't seen the entire Indian cricket ecosystem unite in support for one team, like they have for J&K. The team deserves every bit of this."

In Jammu, Farooq Mohammed can't believe his son is a Ranji Trophy winner. "Main lafzon mein bayaan nahi kar sakta (I can't put to words how much this means)," he says.

A physical education instructor at a government school, Farooq remembers watching the first-ever game in Kashmir that featured Sir Viv Richards. His dream of playing cricket was fuelled then; he couldn't, but his younger son will now return home a winner.

"We're preparing for a grand celebration," he says. "Samad has changed his style. Earlier, he used to think and play a T20 game even in red-ball cricket. Over the years, he has learnt and evolved. He has taken some tough lessons, has been dropped. I think he is a better player today. Our entire locality is celebrating and waiting for his arrival."

Samiullah Beigh, the former captain, proudly calls himself a rebel. He hasn't seen eye-to-eye with several current and past JKCA administrators. His career was cut-short due to his run-ins with the establishment.

Currently serving as an assistant engineer in the Public Works Department in Srinagar, Beigh had taken the Saturday off to be able to watch his team win, even though the result as such was a foregone conclusion.

"Administrations come and go, what the world will remember are these players, as the ones who brought J&K their maiden Ranji title," he says. "These guys have made us feel proud. Our region needs a lift. I can't imagine how much these players have inspired youngsters."

For head coach Ajay Sharma, that shift in perception is the most significant outcome of all.

"Now no one can take J&K lightly," he says. "We are a force to reckon with."

And perhaps that is the enduring sentiment from Hubballi. J&K are no longer asking to belong. They belong.

Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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