Derbyshire sign Mohammad Abbas on two-year contract

Mohammad Abbas, the Pakistan Test seamer, has agreed to join Derbyshire as one of their overseas players, signing a two-year contract that covers the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Abbas has built an impressive record in red-ball county cricket with Leicestershire, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire, whom he helped to the Championship title last summer. He will be reunited at Derbyshire with Mickey Arthur, the man who gave him his Test debut with Pakistan and who will hope the arrival of Abbas can help to spark a promotion push next year.

"This is a statement signing for us, we've beaten a number of Division One counties to sign one of the finest red-ball bowlers around and we're absolutely delighted to have Mohammad on board for 2026 and 2027," Arthur said.

"He's an exceptional bowler, he bowls maidens, builds pressure and his wickets come at a really impressive average. However, it's not just his ability which will be huge for us, his experience is going to be massive for our young players to learn from."

Abbas, whose last Test appearance came in January, has taken 291 wickets in the County Championship at 19.89 some first joining Leicestershire for the 2018 season.

Abbas said: "It's exciting for me to join Derbyshire and work with Mickey Arthur again, he's a fantastic coach and hearing his plans for Derbyshire, we share the same ambitions for the Club: to be in Division One."

"The team only just missed out on promotion in 2025, so I'm hoping I can come in and perform to win a few more games and give our supporters a trophy to celebrate."