England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has signed a two-year deal with Derbyshire after he was released by Somerset at the end of last season.
Bashir joins the Division Two county having gone into the winter without a county contract. He was selected as part of England's Ashes squad after recovering from a finger injury he picked up during the summer. While he went to Australia backed as England's first-choice spinner, he didn't feature in a single Test after Will Jacks was selected over him to provide extra batting depth.
Bashir joins Derbyshire after Somerset release
The 22-year-old was signed by Somerset in 2022, but his appearances for the county became increasingly sporadic after he made his England debut in early 2024. He last played first-class cricket for Somerset in September 2024, and he went on a short-term loan to Glamorgan last summer. While England have been keen for Bashir to gain more experience in county cricket, Bashir struggled to regularly demand a place in Somerset's XI with the services of Jack Leach and spinning all-rounder Archie Vaughan, as well as Lewis Goldsworthy, also available to them.
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His move to Derbyshire promises more consistent cricket. Head coach Mickey Arthur said on Bashir's signing: “We needed to add another spinner to our ranks, after the departure of Alex Thomson, and now we have a really exciting crop of young spinners, in Shoaib, Jack Morley and Joe Hawkins, who can all continue their development within our ranks.”
Derbyshire finished third in the Division Two County Championship last year. They finished bottom of the North Group in the T20 Blast, winning four games out of 10.
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Bashir England future uncertain amid county move
The future of Bashir's international future is unclear after his Ashes omission. His last Test match was against India at Lord's in July, where he impressed despite playing much of the match with a broken finger.
He was first selected for England's 2024 Test series in India, having played just six first-class matches beforehand. After taking two five-wicket-hauls in that series, he became England's de-facto first-choice spinner. Since making his debut, he has taken 68 wickets in 19 matches at 39.00.
Nevertheless, despite consistent backing by Ben Stokes, Bashir's status going into the 2026 Test summer is uncertain, with England set to make changes following an internal review into their 4-1 Ashes defeat.
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