Virat Kohli was beaten outside off stump. When Auqib Nabi brought the ball back in, it struck his pads and thigh pads. Ahead of India's ODI series against New Zealand, the Jammu and Kashmir seamer gave the former captain a searching examination in the nets.
According to a RevSportz report cited by NDTV, Nabi's movement both ways troubled Kohli, who looked irritated after being beaten repeatedly. There were well-timed shots too, and the frustration did not linger: Kohli was soon sharing jokes with Rohit Sharma on the sidelines.
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Nabi has only one ODI behind him, an expensive, wicketless debut against West Indies. His domestic record tells a fuller story. The 29-year-old took 60 wickets in Jammu and Kashmir's first Ranji Trophy-winning season, and has arrived in the senior squad after taking six wickets for India A in Lincoln.
The Bowler Behind J&K's Breakthrough
Nabi earned his place in the national reckoning over two prolific Ranji seasons. He took 104 wickets across them, including 60 in the 2025-26 campaign that ended with Jammu and Kashmir lifting the trophy for the first time.
His first senior India call-up came in August, when an injury to Jasprit Bumrah opened a place in the Test squad for the Sri Lanka series.
In New Zealand, he has already had a chance to bowl in match conditions. Nabi claimed six wickets across two innings in the first unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A at Lincoln. That performance preceded his inclusion in the senior squad for the opening three ODIs.
The account of his spell to Kohli describes a bowler using more than the delivery moving away. Nabi kept testing the outside edge, then got the ball to come back sharply enough to hit the batter's pads.
An on-ground report from Auckland similarly described him finding away movement before bringing deliveries back into the right-handers. Kohli responded with some trademark cover drives, but the seamers kept him working.
A Difficult First ODI
Nabi's introduction to ODI cricket had been unforgiving.
On debut against West Indies in Guwahati, he finished with no wicket for 84 runs in 8.5 overs. It was a batting-friendly surface, but still a bruising set of figures for a bowler playing his first match in the format.
He now has another opportunity. Initially selected for only the fourth and fifth ODIs against New Zealand, Nabi was added to the first three after Prasidh Krishna failed to recover from a hamstring injury.
The change makes him available throughout the five-match series, which begins at Eden Park in Auckland on November 4.
His name has drawn attention because of the batter at the other end in practice. The selectors, though, have had two seasons' worth of wickets to consider.
Nabi was part of a lively pace group during the session. Gurnoor Brar extracted steep bounce, while Anshul Kamboj kept a tight line. Rohit batted watchfully, defending and picking his moments to play shots. KL Rahul joined later, and Ruturaj Gaikwad also had a hit.
For Kohli, it was a demanding spell within a longer workout, with good shots mixed in among the beaten edges. For Nabi, the immediate task is earning a place in the XI in Auckland. He is still waiting for his first ODI wicket.
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