Former India player Wasim Jaffer backed the inclusion of 29-year-old pacer Auqib Nabi in the Test squad. His comments came ahead of India’s two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka, beginning on August 15 in Galle as well.
Speaking during a discussion on his YouTube channel (Wasim Jaffer Official), he said, “Maybe one reason is that we get excited by bowlers who consistently clock 140 kph. Auqib Nabi doesn’t bowl at that pace. He bowls around 135 kph, but that’s still good enough. If you look at the Ranji Trophy final, Prasidh Krishna and Auqib Nabi were playing together, and Auqib Nabi actually outperformed Prasidh Krishna. I’m not saying Prasidh isn’t a very good bowler, but if you compare them side by side, Auqib has outperformed a lot of other bowlers.”
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“There isn’t as much discussion around Auqib Nabi as there was during the Afghanistan series. I hope he gets his chance because I believe he deserves to be in the Indian team. And Auqib Nabi, if a player takes 100 wickets across two domestic seasons, even if you don’t include him in the playing XI, he certainly deserves a place in the 15-member squad. So, I really feel for those two players,” he again added.
Wasim Jaffer also added that Auqib Nabi’s omission from the Sri Lanka series can be understood given the subcontinent conditions as well. However, he also said that if the seamer is not picked for the away series against New Zealand later this year, it would be unfair as well. He further added that if Nabi misses that tour as well, discussions about Ranji Trophy performances would become meaningless then, which will raise questions about whether it is even worth prioritising the domestic cricket as well.
“I also feel that if Auqib Nabi isn’t selected for the New Zealand series, it would be very unfair. I can understand the thinking behind not picking him for Sri Lanka because the pitches might be flatter and the subcontinent conditions are different. But if he isn’t selected for the New Zealand tour either, then I think talking about the importance of Ranji Trophy performances will become meaningless. It will all just remain talk about how players should perform well in Ranji Trophy and first-class cricket. Right now, I don’t think anyone could have done more than this youngster has. If he still isn’t selected for the New Zealand series, then I think we should seriously question whether it’s even worth telling young players to prioritize Ranji Trophy cricket or take it so seriously,” Wasim Jaffer concluded.
