Ishan Kishan and Mohammad Abbas are playing for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire, adding to a list of instances when Indian and Pakistani Test cricketers featured in the same XI in the County Championship.
Bishan Singh Bedi and Mushtaq Mohammad/Sarfraz Nawaz
Northamptonshire, 1970s
Political tensions prevented India and Pakistan from playing each other between 1960/61 and 1978/79. Over this phase, Mushtaq – a world-class leg-spinner and an excellent batter who revived the reverse-sweep – had established himself as a Northants stalwart. Bedi joined the county from 1972 and the duo played together until 1977. When India-Pakistan cricket resumed, the duo led the respective nations.
Read: How a young Mushtaq Mohammad carried forward a rich family tradition
Roger Prideaux was facing a local net bowler on England’s tour of Pakistan in 1969/70. This youngster was up to something bizarre, noticed Prideaux: he was swinging the old ball the other way. He ensured Sarfraz got a contract with Northants, but the conditions did not suit this craft that we now know as “reverse swing”. Sarfraz played for the team in 1971 and 1972, then again from 1974. Both Pakistanis played alongside Bedi for four years.
Read: Bishan Bedi elevated the game almost to an art form
For Sarfraz’s last two seasons, 1981 and 1982, Northamptonshire had signed up a young Kapil Dev, but they did not feature in the same XI. There were two similar non-overlapping pairs in 2003 – Mohammad Kaif and Shahid Afridi for Derbyshire, and Javagal Srinath and Shoaib Akhtar for Durham.
Read: The story behind Sarfraz Nawaz’s famous nine-for
This became common over time as more cricketers signed short-term contracts. Examples are Piyush Chawla and Yasir Arafat (Sussex, 2009); Pragyan Ojha and Arafat (Surrey, 2011); Varun Aaron and Mohammad Abbas (Leicestershire, 2018); M Vijay and Azhar Ali/Babar Azam (Somerset, 2019); Washington Sundar and Hassan Ali (Lancashire, 2022); Umesh Yadav and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Middlesex, 2022); and Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abdullah Shafique (Yorkshire, 2025).
Zaheer Khan and Azhar Mahmood
Surrey, 2004
Before the stint with Worcestershire that propelled his bowling to the next league, Zaheer made a solitary appearance for Surrey in 2003. He did little of note, but he did play alongside Azhar Mahmood, by then a stalwart for the county.
Harbhajan Singh and Azhar Mahmood/Mohammad Akram
Surrey, 2005
Mohammad Akram joined Surrey (and Mahmood) in 2005. They contracted Harbhajan Singh that year as well. Harbhajan played five games for Surrey that summer. One of Akram and Mahmood (but never both) played with him. Harbhajan returned in 2007 for six matches, but neither Pakistani featured in these.
Kumble and Azhar Mahmood/Mohammad Akram
Surrey, 2006
Sandwiched between the two Harbhajan stints was one by Anil Kumble. A former Northamptonshire stalwart, Kumble played three matches in his last season in the County Championship alongside both Mahmood and Akram.
Saqlain Mushtaq had a long career for Surrey, but did not play with any of the three Indians listed above.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan
Sussex, 2022
Pujara’s form for Sussex – his fourth team in the County Championship – in 2022 (1,094 runs at 109.40) was good enough to earn him a brief comeback to the Test side. It marked the start of a three-season phase, over the course of which he made 2,244 runs for Sussex at 74.80, and led them as well. He played four of his eight games in 2022 alongside Rizwan.
Faheem Ashraf played three games for Sussex in 2022 as well, but Pujara did not feature in these.
Ishan Kishan and Mohammad Abbas
Nottinghamshire, 2025
After a long, fruitful stint with Hampshire, Abbas moved to Nottinghamshire for the 2025 season. Here, he will be playing alongside Kishan, who is trying to earn his place back in the national side in all three formats.
