Auqib Nabi signs for Surrey to play County Championship ahead of New Zealand tour

Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi has reportedly signed for Surrey to take part in the ongoing County Championship, with the arrangement made ahead of India's upcoming Test series in New Zealand. Having secured his visa for England, Nabi was set to fly out from New Delhi on Sunday, August 30.

Nabi was the standout bowler in the most recent Ranji Trophy season, taking 60 wickets at an average of 12.56 and guiding J&K to their first-ever championship title. Despite being named in India's squad for the home Test series against Sri Lanka, which India won 1-0, he did not get a game in either of the two matches.

The 2026 County Championship season runs from April 3 to September 27, 2026. Nabi's arrival at Surrey opens up a window of three remaining Division One fixture before the competition wraps up. Surrey also currently have India leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and uncapped batting all-rounder Mahipal Lomror in their squad.

Nabi is in line to make his Surrey debut in their County Championship match against Yorkshire, which begins September 2 at The Oval. Surrey then travel to Hove to face Sussex on September 8, before returning to The Oval to host Glamorgan on September 15.

"It was a decision taken by the Indian team think-tank (team management and selection committee) that Gurnoor will be playing the Duleep Trophy.Already Arshdeep (Singh) and Anshul (Kamboj) are in playing eleven and Gurnoor will replace Sunil Kumar. So, BCCI is looking for at least two to three red-ball games for Auqib in England, which will be handy," a source was quoted as saying by India TV.

"While conditions are slightly different in New Zealand, but Auqib certainly will be in the scheme of things. So, a couple of games won't be bad for him while Gurnoor plays the Duleep Trophy. The BCCI is trying to get his UK visa and upon arrival, he might leave for UK,” it added.

Nabi is among several Indian cricketers heading to county cricket at this point in the season. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who picked up 16 wickets during the Sri Lanka series, is rejoining Warwickshire, while left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is heading back to Yorkshire.

Another source in a popular media report by Telangana Today also indicated that India seamers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar, both currently involved in the Duleep Trophy semi-final between East Zone and Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, could potentially feature in English county cricket later.

Once his county commitments are complete, Nabi is due to join the India 'A' setup for two red-ball matches against Australia in Puducherry. The first of those games gets under way on September 22, with the second scheduled to begin on September 29.

The back-to-back India 'A' fixture creates a scheduling conflict for J&K. The Irani Cup match between J&K and Rest of India in Srinagar runs from October 1 to 5, and with the second Puducherry game starting just days before, Nabi's availability for his state side remains uncertain.