Pakistan’s Abbas joins Leicestershire in UK

Pakistan medium pace bowler Mohammad Abbas has joined the Leicestershire County Cricket Club for the second season in England.

“It is brilliant to have him back, but you obviously want everybody to do well and play for their country whether they are our players or not. For us, we are delighted to have him back," said Leicestershire CCC Head Coach Paul Nixon, quoted the club in a statement.

The arrival of Abbas is huge for the Foxes, with the bowler being available to open to attack as well as give other bowlers a chance to rest and play to the best of their ability.

“It is crucial that Mo [Muhammad Abbas] adds that bit quality and that belief in our game, and it also helps us rotate the squad that little bit more. We have a smaller squad, so the bowlers have heavy workloads,” said Nixon.

“Ideally, he would have been here from ball one of the season, as that was the plan, but to win against Sussex the way we did without Muhammad gave us great confidence. But, he will be back and firing for the next [Specsavers] County Championship game at Lord's."

Mohammad Abbas was earlier part of Pakistan 23-probable squad for the World Cup, but failed to impress the national selectors for the upcoming tournament.