Nottinghamshire eye Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas for the upcoming county season

Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas is set for a new county stint as Nottinghamshire are likely to sign him after two seasons with Leicestershire. The bowler has impressed during his stint at Grace Road, the home ground to Leicestershire and his overall good show in England has also made Nottinghamshire eye him.

Abbas, who has bagged 79 wickets for Leicestershire at an impressive average of below 21, was also picked as the player of the Test series that Pakistan played in England in 2018. He has picked 10 wickets in two matches with the best of 8 for 64 in the one played at Lord’s. He has 66 wickets in 14 Tests and one wicket in three ODIs.

Notts’ bowling attack will be boosted by Mohammad Abbas’ presence

According to a report in Wisden, despite his good show, Leicestershire could not push for his promotion during his stay there. Nottinghamshire, on the other hand, were on the lookout for a good red-ball seamer as they struggled to find a settled attack and ended the last season with 32 bowling bonus points, the joint lowest in either division.

While some bowlers were out of form, few others went to other counties and Zak Chappell, the last player to move from Leicestershire to Nottinghamshire, struggled with form and fitness.

The report though did not confirm if Leicestershire has offered Abbas a new contract for his phenomenal first summer in England is something the county will not like to miss. Though he has not quite kept a good form in 2019, yet his exit would leave Leicestershire’s bowling attack weak. He took 10 wickets for Leicestershire in a day against Durham last year to give the side a huge victory.

The Notts, on the other hand, have said that he is on their shortlist of overseas options to play in the County Championship in 2020 but the deal is not confirmed yet. The 29-year-old Abbas is currently touring Australia with the Pakistan team and picked up two wickets for 22 in the two-day side game against Cricket Australia XI in Perth. Last year, Abbas took 17 wickets in two Tests against Australia in the UAE as Pakistan won 1-0.

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