Nabi received the necessary work visa clearances on Saturday and left on the first available flight. He is expected to debut in Surrey’s County Championship fixture against Yorkshire at The Oval on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the J&K selectors will wait to hear from the national selectors before picking their squad for the Irani Cup from October 1-5 in Srinagar. Since the second India A vs Australia A fixture clashes with the Irani Cup, the selectors will likely balance the squads, with Nabi set to play for one of the teams.
However, with both upcoming Tests scheduled in the early part of the New Zealand summer, the Indian team management and selectors felt Nabi would be better off playing in similar conditions, the temperatures in the UK notwithstanding.
Nabi has had a pathbreaking year. In March, he was part of J&K’s historic maiden Ranji Trophy title win. He finished the season with 60 wickets, including a five-for in the final. Among his wickets were KL Rahul, Karun Nair and R Smaran, the season’s highest run-scorer with 950 runs. In April, he made his IPL debut after several years of going unsold. But, picked for INR 8.4 crore by Delhi Capitals, he featured in five games overall, failing to pick up a wicket while going at 11.46.
Surrey have seen an influx of Indian players lately. B Sai Sudharsan had two short stints with them in 2023 and 2024. Earlier this month, they also signed Rajasthan batter Mahipal Lomror for six matches. Legspinner Rahul Chahar too is currently contracted to the club.
