Shoaib Akhtar said his short-term spell for Surrey in county cricket will be a great opportunity for him to play some cricket after a near four-month gap since the IPL.

Shoaib, who is still fighting a temporarily suspended 18-month ban placed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board for a breach of their discipline codes, last played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL so will be glad to play three Championship matches with Surrey, who are fighting relegation from the First Division. 

Pakistan’s next first-class cricket is not until January against India at home, so the stint will be extremely useful to Shoaib.

“We have no Tests this year which is disappointing so it is a great chance to play a few county games,” Shoaib told Pakistani journalist Shahid Hasmi on Cricket Nirvana.

“Surrey is a great county and one of my idols Waqar Younis played for them in the past, so it is a great honour and privilege.”

He added: “We have no cricket before India and if we have that (planned) tri-series in South Africa it would be great or else the next series is against India. It would be great to have India on home grounds.”

Shoaib previous spells in county cricket have not been as successful as he and the clubs would have liked. He signed for Nottinghamshire in 2000 but a rib injury sustained in the Caribbean prevented him from playing any games for the Trent Bridge. He also played for Durham in 2003 and Worcestershire in 2005.