Auqib Nabi to play three County Championship games for Surrey starting September 2 as New Zealand tour prep

Auqib Nabi has agreed to a short-term County Championship stint with Surrey, beginning with a match against Yorkshire at The Oval on September 2, the PTI reported, as part of preparations for India's upcoming Test tour of New Zealand.

The arrangement covers three matches: Surrey v Yorkshire at The Oval starting September 2, a fixture against Sussex beginning September 8, and a final county outing versus Glamorgan on September 15. Following the county programme, Nabi is scheduled to join the India A squad in Puducherry for unofficial Tests against Australia A.

Reports on August 29 said the BCCI, with the New Zealand Test tour in mind, had been exploring short-term opportunities for Nabi in English conditions and was in talks with several county sides to secure a late-season slot in the County Championship.

Nabi's domestic form underpins the move: he finished the Ranji Trophy campaign as the competition's leading wicket-taker with 60 scalps and produced a five-wicket haul in the final. His list of victims during that season included KL Rahul, Karun Nair and R Smaran, with R Smaran topping the season's run charts with 950 runs.

The month after the Ranji success brought Nabi his Indian Premier League debut after previously going unsold at earlier auctions; Delhi Capitals purchased him for INR 8.4 crore. In five IPL appearances he did not take a wicket and conceded at an economy rate of 11.46.

Nabi was also a late call-up to India's squad for the Sri Lanka tour but did not feature in any match during that series.

Surrey's recent recruitment has included several Indian players: Sai Sudharsan had two brief spells with the county in 2023 and 2024, Mahipal Lomror was signed earlier this month for a six-match stint, and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar is currently on Surrey's books.

After completing the three County Championship fixtures in England, Nabi will link up with India A in Puducherry for the scheduled unofficial Tests against Australia A.