IPL 2026 Auction: THIS Jammu And Kashmir Pacer Known As Baramulla Express Gets Sold For 28 Times His Base Price, Who Is He?

The IPL auction always throws up a few shocks, and this year was no different. In 2026, the name that had everyone talking was Auqib Nabi Dar, a fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir Pacer Auqib Nabi Dar Hits Jackpot

He started out with a base price of just 30 lakhs, but as the bids kept rolling in, his price soared. By the end, Delhi Capitals grabbed him for a whopping 8.4 crore, 28 times what he started at. 

Auqib comes from Baramullah, and while his main gig is bowling medium-fast, he can swing the bat pretty well in the lower order too. He hasn’t played in the IPL before, but he’s made a name for himself playing for Jammu and Kashmir back home.

Auqib Nabi Dar’s performance in domestic

So far, he’s racked up 36 first-class games, 29 List A matches, and 34 T20s for J&K. His stats? Solid. He’s taken 125 wickets in first-class cricket, 42 in List A, and 28 in T20s.

Last Ranji Trophy season (2024/25), he finished as the second-highest wicket-taker, collecting 44 wickets. And then in the 2025 Duleep Trophy, he pulled off something wild: four wickets in four balls against East Zone, which no one had ever done in that tournament before. 

If you’re wondering about his form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, he was on fire i.e. 15 wickets in just 7 games, including one match where he grabbed four wickets. 

In his last appearance, against Madhya Pradesh at Eden Gardens, he smashed 32 runs off 21 balls batting at number seven—two boundaries, three sixes—then came back and took 3 for 19 in four overs. Not a bad day at the office. 

How did the Internet react?

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