Sports · Cricket · 1 day ago
Auqib Nabi backs seam skills to adapt to New Zealand conditions
India fast bowler Auqib Nabi is relying on his domestic-cricket skills as he plays his first series in New Zealand.
He says he bowls in the 130kmph range and sees extra pace as a bonus, not the main answer.
He plans to use seam movement—the ball shifting off the pitch—to trouble batters in conditions that differ from those in India.
Nabi said experienced India batters advised him that scrambled seam and hitting the pitch hard could create wicket-taking chances.
India leads the five-match series 2-0 after winning the first two games; the third was abandoned because of rain.
Nabi took two wickets in the second match after going wicketless in the first.
The fourth ODI is scheduled for Friday at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, and Nabi will stay with the team to help prepare for the two-Test series starting November 19.
Auqib Nabi says he will rely on seam movement and skills developed in domestic cricket to adapt to New Zealand conditions.
India leads the five-match ODI series 2-0 after the third match was abandoned because of rain.
Nabi said bowlers in New Zealand should use seam movement because batters can handle swing.
He was preparing for the fourth ODI at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
Nabi took 104 wickets across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Ranji Trophy seasons.
- Who
- India pacer Auqib Nabi.
- What
- He plans to rely on domestic-cricket skills and seam movement to adapt to New Zealand conditions.
- When
- Ahead of the fourth ODI, scheduled for Friday, November 13, 2026.
- Where
- New Zealand; the fourth ODI is at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
- Why
- Nabi said seam movement is important because top-level batters can deal with swing.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Nabi returned figures of 0/33 as India won by five wickets under the DLS method.
Nabi dismissed Will Young and Tim Seifert as India won by four runs under the DLS method.
The match in Hamilton was abandoned because of rain, with India leading the series 2-0.
The fourth ODI is scheduled at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
- Series score
- India leads New Zealand 2-0
- Nabi's bowling speed
- 130kmph range
- Ranji Trophy wickets
- 104 across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons
- 2025-26 Ranji Trophy
- 60 wickets in 17 innings at an average of 12.65
- Fourth ODI venue
- Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
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What people are saying
Having pace is good but I back my skills.
Here, if you do scramble seam or hit the deck, there is a chance to get more wickets here.
You need to rely more on seam here. Use scrambled seam because swing can be dealt with.