New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Delhi Capitals fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has heaped praise on his teammate, fast-bowling all-rounder Auqib Nabi, describing him as a ‘complete cricketer’ and added that his exploits in the Ranji Trophy had him intrigued long before the two ever shared a net session in IPL 2026.
Nabi was signed by DC at last year’s auction for a whopping Rs. 8.40 crore after being a net bowler with multiple franchises before. Nabi was one of the key players in Jammu & Kashmir winning 2025/26 Ranji Trophy, picking 60 wickets in ten matches at an average of just 12.56.
Though Nabi had figures of 0-17 in his two overs when he got his IPL debut against Chennai Super Kings, he still remains one of front-runners to get his first Test cap for India later in the year.
“Speaking on Auqib, so obviously when I found out I was coming to Delhi and he was also coming to Delhi, that’s when I saw all the news about him. Then I started reading about him and, and his success over the last season and how well he had performed with bat and ball. So I was very excited to meet him.
“I wanted to meet this guy because he’s the hot topic right now within Indian cricket. I’m not talking about the internationals, as the guys are always in the news. Like you always see them and that’s fine, but it’s the guys that are playing Ranji Trophy and all that stuff where those obviously tournaments give them an opportunity to break through into IPLs and into the Indian team.
“So for me to hear that he had done so well over the last season, I wanted to meet him. Then when I met him, I realised how skilful a cricketer he is. We were speaking about it now being able to hit the top of off-stump, but he can swing the ball both ways. He can land a yorker, bowls at a good pace and he can hit the ball with the bat as well,” Ngidi told IANS in a virtual roundtable chat organised by the franchise on Thursday.
Ahead of DC taking on Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium earlier this month, bowling coach Munaf Patel revealed that Ngidi had been spending a lot of time with Nabi at the practice sessions. What struck Ngidi, though, about Nabi, went beyond the skill set – it was the temperament and quiet, grounded, and hardworking nature.
“So he’s a complete cricketer, and he’s a very humble guy – very nice and quiet guy as well. So I enjoy people like that. He obviously works hard. So when I was standing in the nets, obviously we were paired up to bowl together.
“I guess we just sort of clicked, like we don’t have a lot to say to each other, but we communicate well and we get along well. For me, it’s just nice to meet cricketers who are trying to make their way through the system.
“You always hear about the top cricketers anyway, so that’s standard. But to meet someone who’s trying to find his way into the Indian national team or just to make a name for himself, I enjoy those kinds of stories, you know? So, yeah,” he added.
2026 has been a year where Ngidi has been prolific in using slower balls. He then turned his attention to a delivery where he’s achieved a lot of mastery – the wide slower yorker, something which was on display when he picked a three-fer against Lucknow Super Giants in the first game of this season.
“That is probably one of the hardest balls to bowl because you’ve got to land it on a yorker length. Two, you got to land it just inside the wide line and pretty much everything has to be perfect for it to get there. I do feel it’s one of the most effective balls because it’s also got no pace on it.
“So it’s tough for a batter to hit that ball if it’s got no pace, you’ve landed it in the right area and it’s inside the wide line. But everything takes practice and repetition. It’s very close margins. I think we’re lucky now that we can review those wides because before you would actually bowl it on the line or just inside the line and the umpire still calls it a wide and you feel like that’s a bit unfair.
“So it helps now that we have the review where we can overturn those decisions because it is a massive factor for a bowler. If you can land that ball – that’s one ball out of the way. So it is one of the hardest balls I would say you to, to have to deliver,” he concluded.
–IANS
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