When Jammu & Kashmir made the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy in 2024-25 only for the third time in its history, pacer Auqib Nabi played a starry role.

He took 44 wickets — the second-highest tally of the season — including six in the stunning five-wicket win over Mumbai where he dismissed batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer.

On Friday here at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, the right-arm quick continued his purple patch with a five-wicket haul (5/28) – including a hat-trick — that flattened East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal.

“A lot has changed in the last year,” the 28-year-old said after play on day two. “This is my debut for North Zone after being the highest wicket-taker for a pacer (in the last Ranji season), and you need the right reward for your performances. With the help of coaches and blessings of god, I have been able to bowl well.”

Nabi comes from a State that is a cricketing outlier, with its own history of administrative apathy and infrastructure issues. But none of it has dampened his spirits.

“Whenever someone starts playing cricket, the only motivation is to play for India,” he said. “Mine was the same. If doesn’t matter if you have limited resources… one shouldn’t give that as an excuse. You have to keep improving if you want to play for India.”

India pacer and fellow North Zone bowler Arshdeep Singh lauded Nabi’s effort.

“When he was bowling in the nets, I think he took seven wickets in the first 10 balls. We thought there was something special there. We are now seeing the glimpses of the hard work he put in the Ranji Trophy.”