Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi has been quite superb in domestic cricket for the last couple of years. He has been piling up wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah, who was named in the squad for the series against Sri Lanka starting on Saturday, was pulled out due to an injury, and Nabi has been named as a replacement.
Nabi shared his thoughts on where he was and with Saransh Jain in a video released by the BCCI.
“I was at the airport. We had to go for a camp at CoE. I was about to board a flight to Bangalore. So, I got a call asking where I was. I told him that I was going to Bangalore; I was at the airport. He told me that you don’t have to go there, you have to come to Sri Lanka. You have been selected. At first, I couldn’t believe it. It was unexpected because the squad was already announced. I was like, I will work hard in the camp at CoE,” Nabi said.
The 29-year-old bowler revealed that he always believed he would have been picked for the side.
“Yes, I had expectations. But as a cricketer, you have to have the mindset that your job is to perform. I did think that I would get a call-up sooner or later. If you have been doing well for years, you have to get the fruits of your hard work. I used to bowl with the same mindset; my job is to take wickets and perform, and leave the rest to the Almighty. Now that my name has come up, I am very happy, and my family is also happy. There can’t be a bigger moment for me than this,” Nabi said.
Nabi got his opportunity to play in the warm-up game last week. “The atmosphere was great. Sharing the dressing room with the people we see on TV, sharing the nets, was a big deal for me,” he said.