On the evidence of the first few of his IPL matches, Auqib Nabi doesn’t look like T20 material. Not to dishearten an inexperienced bowler, but he doesn’t look like any material. Now it’s up to him to prove his critics wrong.
It’s early days for sure. He has played just three matches. He has not taken any wickets and has been taken to the cleaners more often than not. But that’s not worrying. What is worrying is that he has come across as a very sub-standard bowler.
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To begin with, he has no pace to speak of. At this pace of 120-130 kmph on these belters, what chance can he have? And then, given how T20 batsmen are evolving, he is not going to last in the format for long, rest assured. Unless, of course, he drastically improves.
So far, he doesn’t have a Plan B. He bowls his four-day lengths, ball-in, ball-out. And that length in T20 cricket is damaging. No kidding, but the batsmen nowadays on these flat wickets have nothing to do other than close their eyes and give the ball a whack. They can hit these balls for a six all day long.
Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya showed that yesterday, as Punjab Kings made a mockery of Delhi Capitals’ 264. Highest chase ever in IPL history.
Auqib is also not at the right franchise. Sympathies. Captain Axar Patel has looked clueless at best. There was no reason for him to throw the Jammu and Kashmir bowler into the fire. He could have started with the more experienced Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan or even Lungi Ngidi.
But the captain is not entirely to blame; Auqib also bowled a no-ball in his second over, and to make things worse, he was hit for a six. It was an over in which he conceded 27 runs.
Big transformation is needed!
Going forward, after this season, Auqib has to undergo a massive transformation. He is too heavy for a fast bowler. As a result, he doesn’t look flexible enough. And as long as he is heavy, he can’t add those extra yards to his pace.
Succeeding in domestic cricket is one thing; succeeding in the IPL is another. We are not talking international cricket at present; that’s the highest level. If this is what Auqib has got at his disposal, the fast-tracking of him to Test cricket, as has been suggested by big names like Sourav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan, I am afraid, won’t work either.
In the Ranji Trophy, where you have the entire morning session in cold conditions all over the country on supportive pitches against not exactly very accomplished batsmen, one can be a hero, but in the IPL, it’s a totally different ball game. None of those things — cold conditions, supportive pitches and not so accomplished batsmen — you get in the IPL.
Delhi Capitals director of cricket and former India batsman Venugopal Rao has backed Nabi as he should. “Auqib Nabi did well in red-ball cricket. This is his first IPL. It happens to everyone. He will gain experience. We need to back him. It is difficult to get fast bowlers in India, and he has done well. He will learn,” he said after Saturday’s defeat.
But Rao should take his job a little more seriously. His intention can’t be questioned for sure, but he has not delivered. And often he comes across as mealy-mouthed. He should be called to account; for, the team has gone from bad to worse under him.
Anyway, he should make sure that by the end of this season, after the kind of start Auqib has had, he doesn’t totally disappear into oblivion. With 60 wickets in 10 games in J&K’s historic title-winning campaign, Nabi can’t be good for nothing.
But we will do well to remember that a good bowler is a good bowler, no matter what the format is. Going by his Nabi’s performances so far in the IPL, it’s clear he is not as he has been made out to be in recent months.
Now’s the time to reassess his potential and provide him with everything that can make the 29-year-old international material or even IPL material.