Fate smiles and tousles Auqib Nabi’s hair but the Jammu and Kashmir pacer may still need some more luck for India debut

The 29-year-old fast bowler makes it to the Indian squad for the upcoming two Sri Lanka Tests after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out.

Finally, Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi has made it to the Indian Test team for the upcoming two Tests in Sri Lanka. Not as a first choice but as an injury replacement for ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

In hindsight, playing in the IPL probably wasn't a good call on Auqib Nabi's part. (AP)

It’s a huge, huge moment in his career. For the past several months, the 29-year-old has been tipped to make his Test debut for India, especially after he inspired J&K to their maiden Ranji Trophy win in February earlier this year. But when he wasn’t picked for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June, with Gurnoor Brar getting the nod ahead of him -- although he didn’t play -- criticism against the Indian selectors from certain quarters reached its peak. Former India players Dilip Vengsarkar and Irfan Pathan have been particularly critical of the selectors.

They had valid points. After all, India’s Test side gets chosen on the basis of the performance of players in the Ranji Trophy. And if a bowler is the highest wicket-taker in the latest season with 60 wickets — and a slayer of more than 100 batsmen over the last two seasons — with inspiring performances in important matches, he deserves a place in the team, doesn't he? If there is no vacancy in the national team because every established pacer is doing well, then it’s understandable. But that’s not the case. With the exceptions of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, none inspires much confidence. Plus, one has to prepare backup bowlers. He could very well have played against Afghanistan, make no mistake.

But after Bumrah was ruled out yesterday due to a knee issue, the selectors had no option but to call up Nabi. What may have also worked in favour of the pacer is the fact that recently he played two first-class games in Sri Lanka for India A. Although, he took only six wickets in those matches, including a four-for in an innings — just for comparison, Gurnoor took a match-winning ten-for in the only match he played there — the fact is that he should be familiar with the conditions there, having played there just a few weeks ago. Both games were played in Galle, the venue of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

What are the odds of his playing?

By the way, Gurnoor is also part of the squad and India, in light of the conditions in Sri Lanka, are unlikely to go in with three pacers, in which case Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are the first two choices. So, there is a strong possibility that there might be no debut for Nabi in Sri Lanka. But then he has been lucky so far. He has made it to the squad through sheer luck. Who knows, there might be more luck in store for him?!

If that happens, Nabi has no option but to do really well. Playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League did damage his reputation quite a bit. He relies on swing a lot, but on the flat wickets of the league, for a very large part for sure, he was taken to the cleaners more often than not. And the fact that he is not exactly a really quick pacer made things worse for him.

But now the time has come for him to set things to rights. Fans are quite fickle. One good performance in Sri Lanka can realign the stars for him. But before that happens, he will need more luck to be able to break into the Playing XI.