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With India’s next Test tour of New Zealand in mind, the BCCI is in talks with a few English county clubs to arrange a short-term contract for talented pacer Auqib Nabi. The plan is to give him some red-ball experience during the final rounds of the County Championship.
Nabi had an outstanding Ranji Trophy season, finishing as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 60 wickets. However, he did not get a chance in India’s playing XI for the two recent Tests against Sri Lanka. Gurnoor Brar was also left out of the team.
With Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna being given breaks to manage their workload, Gurnoor will now join the North Zone squad for their Duleep Trophy semi-final against South Zone. The match is scheduled to begin on November 30 at the Centre of Excellence.
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"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 BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Surrey are understood to be looking for a swing bowler, and discussions have taken place about Nabi playing a few games for the London-based county.
Former England captain Alec Stewart, who is also Surrey’s director, is believed to have been involved in talks with people from the BCCI.
"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," the source added.
Several other Indian players have already gained experience in English county cricket. Manav Suthar has played two matches for Warwickshire, while Kuldeep Yadav has returned to England for Yorkshire’s red-ball fixtures. Ashutosh Sharma also featured for Middlesex in the Royal London One-Day Cup. R Sai Kishore is currently playing for Gloucestershire as well.