{"id":22880,"date":"2025-12-16T16:47:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T11:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=671972"},"modified":"2025-12-16T16:47:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T11:17:47","slug":"ipl-2026-auctions-auqib-nabi-dar-sold-to-delhi-capitals-for-rs-8-40-crore-after-intense-bidding-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/cricket\/ipl\/ipl-2026-auctions-auqib-nabi-dar-sold-to-delhi-capitals-for-rs-8-40-crore-after-intense-bidding-war\/","title":{"rendered":"IPL 2026 Auctions: Auqib Nabi Dar sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 8.40 crore after intense bidding war"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Uncapped Indian right-arm pacer <strong>Auqib Nabi Dar<\/strong> emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the <strong>IPL 2026 mini-auction<\/strong>, with <strong>Delhi Capitals (DC)<\/strong> securing his services for a whopping <strong>Rs 8.40 crore<\/strong>. The Jammu & Kashmir fast bowler had entered the auction with a <strong>base price of just Rs 30 lakh<\/strong>, but strong interest from multiple franchises triggered a fierce bidding war that pushed his value well beyond expectations.<\/p>\n<p>This marks <strong>Auqib Nabi\u2019s maiden IPL contract<\/strong>, underlining the growing premium franchises are placing on high-performing domestic fast bowlers.<\/p>\n<h3>Breakout domestic season fuels demand<\/h3>\n<p>Auqib Nabi\u2019s rapid rise is backed by <strong>exceptional performances in the 2024\u201325 domestic season across formats<\/strong>. In the <strong>Ranji Trophy<\/strong>, he finished as the <strong>second-highest wicket-taker among pacers<\/strong>, claiming <strong>44 wickets at an outstanding average of 13.93<\/strong>. His impact performances included a sensational <strong>7 for 24 match haul against Rajasthan<\/strong>, which firmly put him on the national radar.<\/p>\n<p>In the <strong>Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025<\/strong>, the right-arm pacer continued his consistency, picking up <strong>15 wickets in seven matches<\/strong> for Jammu & Kashmir. He also made headlines in the <strong>Duleep Trophy<\/strong>, where he created history by becoming the <strong>first bowler to take four wickets in four consecutive deliveries<\/strong>, representing North Zone.<\/p>\n<h3>Skill over speed<\/h3>\n<p>Despite not being an express quick, Auqib\u2019s effectiveness lies in his <strong>skill, control, and ability to swing the new ball<\/strong>, while remaining reliable at the death. Jammu & Kashmir\u2019s Ranji Trophy bowling coach <strong>P Krishna Kumar<\/strong> has consistently backed the young pacer, highlighting his natural action and adaptability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I came to J&K as coach, it was evident Auqib had a beautiful natural bowling action, like Mohammad Shami\u2019s wrist position. His outswinger needed variations, and he picked those up quickly. He learns fast,\u201d Krishna said, adding that Auqib\u2019s pace range of <strong>125\u2013131 kmph<\/strong> should not overshadow his wicket-taking ability.<\/p>\n<p>Auqib himself has been clear about his philosophy, stressing that <strong>skills matter more than raw pace<\/strong>. \u201cSpeed isn\u2019t everything. If I can deliver wickets, that\u2019s what teams need,\u201d the Baramulla-born pacer has said.<\/p>\n<h3>Delhi Capitals\u2019 big bet<\/h3>\n<p>After attracting interest from multiple teams, <strong>Delhi Capitals eventually won the bidding battle at Rs 8.40 crore<\/strong>, making Auqib Nabi Dar one of the <strong>most expensive uncapped Indian players<\/strong> of the IPL 2026 auction. DC\u2019s investment reflects their intent to build a strong Indian pace core, banking on domestic performers with proven red-ball and white-ball credentials.<\/p>\n<p>With his ability to move the ball early, maintain discipline, and strike in key phases, <strong>Auqib Nabi Dar now steps into the IPL spotlight<\/strong>, carrying both expectations and an opportunity to translate his domestic dominance onto the biggest T20 stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Uncapped Indian right-arm pacer Auqib Nabi Dar emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, with\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":43066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4057],"class_list":["post-22880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl","tag-top-stories"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}