BIRMINGHAM (Kashmir English): As the Cricket season returned to England with the 2025 Rothesay County Championship beginning on Friday, April 4, five Pakistani cricketers will feature in this year’s tournament.
Captain of Pakistan’s Test team, Shan Masood, along with fast bowlers Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Kashif Ali, and spinner Zafar Gohar will all be in action.
Masood, Hasan Ali, and Zafar Gohar will also be part of the squads for the Vitality T20 Blast tournament, set to take place in June after the first round of County Championship matches.
Shan Masood and Hasan Ali will be available only after fulfilling their commitments with Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises, while Abbas will be available for six matches — three in May and three in September.
Young pacer Kashif has joined Kent but will not be available for their tournament opener against Northamptonshire. Left-arm spinner Gohar will be available for Middlesex in their opening match at Lord’s.
Notably, Zafar Gohar will be playing as a local player, having now obtained British citizenship.
County Championship
Shan Masood
Shan Masood, Pakistan Test team captain, will represent Leicestershire County Cricket Club across all three formats in 2025.
Masood (now 35) has regularly played County Championship in recent seasons. He enjoyed a spectacular debut season with Derbyshire in 2022, scoring 1,832 runs across 28 matches, which helped earn him a recall to the Pakistan national team.
Masood will join Leicestershire — known as the Foxes — at the end of May, for the Vitality Blast opener on May 31. With Pakistan having no Test matches scheduled during this period, Masood is expected to stay for the entire season.
Hasan Ali
Hasan is a right-arm fast bowler who returns to Warwickshire for a third consecutive year. He is expected to remain with the club until the end of the season.
The pacer will rejoin the Bears’ squad on May 29, just ahead of the T20 Blast, and is available to play in all formats.
Mohammad Abbas
Fast bowler Abbas will represent Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in 2025 season.
The 34-year-old previously played for Hampshire from 2021 to 2024. In 47 matches for Hampshire, he claimed 180 wickets at an impressive average of 19.26 and a strike rate of 48.13.
Now, Abbas is finally set to debut for Notts, having signed on to play six County Championship fixtures — three in May and three in September this year.
Kashif Ali
Rawalpindi-born pacer Kashif Ali, who made his Test debut against the West Indies earlier this year, has been signed by Kent County Cricket Club for the season.
He will be available in April and May as cover for regular Australian pacer Wes Agar. This marks Kashif’s first stint in county cricket.
Zafar Gohar
This season, Lahore-born left-arm spinner Gohar will play for Middlesex as a local player, having obtained British citizenship.
Now 30, Gohar made his ODI debut for Pakistan in 2015 against England and his Test debut in 2021 against New Zealand.
He has also played for Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.
