Right-arm pacer Auqib Nabi was named Player of the Series as Jammu & Kashmir created history by winning the Ranji Trophy 2025-26, thus registering their maiden triumph in India’s premier domestic competition. In the final played in Hubballi, J&K were declared winners on first-innings lead after the match against Karnataka ended in a draw.

Nabi finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. In 10 matches (17 innings), he claimed 60 wickets at an exceptional average of 12.56, with seven five-wicket hauls and two four-wicket hauls. The 29-year-old claimed 12 wickets against Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinal, nine wickets against Bengal in the semifinal and five wickets in the final against Karnataka.

Nabi achieved a number of memorable milestones as he delivered some stupendous performances in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26. In this feature, we look at five of his prominent milestones in the tournament.

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#1 Nabi is first J&K bowler to claim 50-plus wickets in a single Ranji Trophy edition

Nabi is the first bowler from J&K to claim 50 or more wickets in a single edition of the Ranji Trophy. The previous best tally by a J&K bowler was Nabi’s 44 wickets in the 2024-25 season. He was the joint-second on the list of leading wicket-takers, with Mumbai’s Shams Mulani also claiming 44 wickets. Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey topped the bowling charts last season, with 69 scalps.

Overall, Nabi has played 41 first-class matches and has claimed 156 wickets at an average of 18.37. The right-arm pacer’s stats in domestic red-ball cricket include 16 five-wicket hauls and four 10-wicket match hauls.

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#2 Joint-most five-wicket hauls by a pacer in a single Ranji Trophy season

Nabi claimed seven five-wicket hauls in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. He thus equaled the record for most five-fers by a pacer in a single edition of the domestic tournament. Lakshmipathy Balaji (2002-03), Aniket Choudhary (2018-19) and Jaydev Unadkat ( 2019-20) are the other pacers to have achieved the feat.

In the overall list, Bihar’s left-arm spinner Ashutosh Aman and late spin legend Bishan Bedi are the only bowlers with more five-fers in a single edition of the Ranji Trophy. Aman claimed nine five-wicket hauls in 2018-19, while Bedi picked up eight back in 1974-75.

Nabi finished with eight five-wicket hauls in the 2025-26 first-class season. This is also a joint-record for most five-fers in a first-class season in India. Maurice Tate (1926-27) and Ron Oxenham (1935-36) are the only other bowlers to have achieved the feat before him.

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#3 100 wickets across two Ranji Trophy seasons

Nabi is now fifth on the list of bowlers with most wickets across two Ranji Trophy seasons. Combining his figures for 2024-25 & 2025-26, the J&K pacer has picked up 104 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 13.14, with 13 five-fers.

Ashutosh Aman (2018-19 & 2019-20) leads the list with 117 wickets. He is followed by Kanwaljit Singh (1998-99 & 1999-00), who claimed 113 scalps. Shahbaz Nadeem (2015-16 & 2016-17), with 107 wickets and Unadkat (2018-19 & 2019-20), with 106 scalps feature in the illustrious list. Ishwar Chaudhary (2018-19 & 2019-20) is below Nabi, with exactly 100 scalps across two seasons.

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#4 Second-most five-fers across two seasons

Nabi claimed 13 five-wicket hauls in 2024-25 & 2025-26 combined. He is now second on the list of bowlers with most five-fers across successive Ranji Trophy seasons. Bihar bowling all-rounder Ashutosh Aman claimed 14 five-wicket hauls across two Ranji Trophy seasons in 2018-19 & 2019-20.

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#5 Third-highest wicket tally among fast bowlers in a single season

Nabi’s 60 wickets in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 puts him third on the list of pace bowlers with most wickets in a single season of the domestic tournament. Left-arm seamer Unadkat tops the list, with 67 in 2019-20, while Dodda Ganesh claimed 62 in 1998-99. Overall, Nabi is seventh on the list of bowlers with most wickets in a single edition of the Ranji Trophy.