J&K’s former bowling coach P Krishnakumar believes pacer Auqib Nabi’s mental strength will keep him in good stead during his maiden Test trip to Sri Lanka.

“Nabi has grown at a time when there was a lot of hardship in J&K, and that has made him mentally very tough. After taking so many wickets, when he was not getting that India nod, he was a bit down sometimes, but he never gave up hope because he has a strong mind. I kept telling him to just keep performing and leave the rest to fate and he did just that, and has now been rewarded,” Krishnakumar, a former Rajasthan captain and pacer himself, told mid-day over the phone from Bengaluru on Thursday.