Auqib Nabi Recalls Airport Call That Brought First India Test Selection

Auqib Nabi was waiting to fly to Bengaluru for a camp at the Centre of Excellence when his phone rang with news he had not expected: he was in India’s Test squad. The 29-year-old is the first cricketer from the Kashmir Valley to be picked for India in Tests, and the third from Jammu and Kashmir to earn a senior national call-up, after Parvez Rasool and Umran Malik.

A late replacement

Nabi was added after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out with a left knee problem picked up in the second ODI against England in Cardiff. Because the squad had already been announced, the call was a surprise.

In a video released by the BCCI, Nabi said he told the caller he was at the airport about to fly to Bangalore. He was then told he did not need to go, as he had been selected and should travel to Sri Lanka. At first, he said, he could not believe it.

Wickets that earned the chance

His domestic record made the case. Nabi took 104 wickets over the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, 60 of them in 2025-26, when Jammu and Kashmir won their first Ranji Trophy title. He also played for India A on their recent Sri Lanka tour, taking six wickets in two first-class matches.

Biggest moment of his career

Nabi said he had hoped for a call-up and felt it would come eventually, but that a player’s job is to keep performing. He described the selection as the best moment of his career, adding that his family was delighted. Sharing a dressing room and nets with players he had watched on television was, he said, a big thing for him.