The BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan. India will face Afghanistan in a one-off Test, which will start on June 6 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in New Chandigarh. However, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar is not fully satisfied with the selection of the squad, as he feels that the true performers in domestic cricket have not been rewarded.
Dilip Vengsarkar slams BCCI for ignoring Auqib Nabi
The selectors overlooked Auqib Nabi who created havoc with his fast bowling in Jammu and Kashmir's historic Rani Trophy 2025-26 triumph. The right-arm medium pacer has managed to clinch over 100 wickets in the last two seasons of India's top-flight red-ball tournament.
"The selectors’ decision to ignore him is absolutely absurd and baffling. What kind of selection is this? It is just not acceptable. It is injustice. Can you imagine Nabi’s plight right now? He took 60 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. He has worked hard for it and deserves a place ahead of everybody else," told Vengsarkar to The Times of India.
The former India cricketer further went on to say that the BCCI should scrap the domestic setup, if they are not picking the top performers from there.
"If domestic cricket performances are not a criterion, then the BCCI should scrap domestic cricket," he added.
According to some reports, the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar overlooked Nabi because of his pace, as Gurnoor Brar has been picked instead of him.
“You pick a bowler for his ability to get wickets. He may bowl at 130 kmph, but the important thing is his wicket-taking ability. This kid has shown tremendous consistency in getting wickets," added Vengsarkar.
How Auqib Nabi has fared in IPL 2026
After his Ranji Trophy heroics, Delhi Capitals signed Auqib Nabi for a whopping Rs 8.40 crore at the IPL auction. However, things have not gone too well for the J&K pacer in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. The right-arm medium pacer has played four games into the tournament and has failed to take a single wicket, conceding 126 runs at an economy rate of 11.45.
It will be interesting to see if the proven match winner in domestic cricket can change the momentum of his IPL career by dropping a match-winning spell in DC's last league game against Ajinkya Rahane's Kolkata Knight Riders.