Bangladesh fast bowler Hasan Mahmud is set to link up with Kent County Cricket Club for the current season, with club officials confirming the move on Tuesday. Hasan’s representative, Ihsaan Syed-Hussain, said the right-arm pacer is expected to be available for Kent’s County Championship encounter against Lancashire on June 12.
Hasan previously played county cricket for Worcestershire and Surrey as part of his stint as a Bangladesh all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan. Hasan, however, is the player in focus here—he had a tennis elbow injury during the Bangladesh Premier League, which kept him out of Bangladesh’s home series against Pakistan. After that setback, he travelled to England and trained with Kent under the supervision of head coach Adam Hollioake.
Ihsaan, a Bangladeshi-born British citizen who grew up in England, described how he played a central role in getting the deal across the line between Hasan and Kent. He said the original target was to have Hasan ready for the June 12 clash against Lancashire, with the plan dependent on visa arrangements.
“The intention is that he’s available for the June 12 match against Lancashire, which is Kent’s opening game versus Lancashire. That’s the goal they’re working toward. We’re optimistic that the visa will be sorted in time. If it doesn’t happen, then he would have to make his debut in the next fixture on June 18 against Middlesex. But the official plan is June 12,” Ihsaan said.
He added that the move was not a last-minute development, explaining that preparations had been underway for a while. Ihsaan said he began pushing the idea after Hasan delivered a five-wicket haul against India, and that his personal connections with Kent’s management and captain helped build momentum.
“To be clear, this wasn’t a sudden agreement. I started laying the groundwork from the moment Hasan took that five-for against India. From then onwards, because I have a strong relationship with Kent County Cricket Club’s leadership and I know their captain well, I approached them. I told the captain, ‘There’s a guy named Hasan Mahmud playing for Bangladesh. He’s performing really well, and if he gets into county cricket, he’ll absolutely trouble and dismantle teams.’”
Ihsaan said Kent began monitoring Hasan and showed interest during the 2025 season. However, he noted that Hasan’s international schedule—series commitments against Sri Lanka and Ireland—made it difficult to secure him at that stage.
“They began tracking him from there. They were actually quite interested in him last year during the 2025 season. But at that time Hasan had international duties with series versus Sri Lanka and Ireland, so his availability was the sticking point and they couldn’t bring him in. Still, we kept a close connection with Kent and made sure the club knew the interest was mutual,” he said.
According to Ihsaan, the interest reignited at the start of this season, with Kent’s head coach and management reiterating their desire to sign Hasan. He pointed to two key challenges that had to be managed: Hasan’s precise window of availability and the fact that Kent already had their overseas slots filled at the time.
“At the start of this season, they showed strong interest again. Verbally, the head coach and the management told us, ‘We really want him this year.’ Everyone was keen—including the captain. But we had to handle two main hurdles. The first was identifying his exact availability window. As we know with Bangladesh cricket, schedules can change right at the last moment. It’s not like some countries where the calendar is fixed a year ahead. The second issue was that Kent had already filled their overseas places,” he said.
Ihsaan said the situation shifted after Hasan suffered a tennis elbow injury and came to England for rehabilitation. During that period, he reopened the conversation with Kent, noting that while there was a verbal understanding earlier, an official contract had not been signed yet.
“Then everything changed. Hasan unfortunately got a tennis elbow injury and came to England for rehab. During that time, I contacted Kent again. Before that, they had agreed verbally to take him, but there was no official contract signed. When Hasan arrived in the UK, I told Kent, ‘Hasan is here recovering. He has to complete some bowling workloads as part of his rehab plan. Can he come and bowl at your facilities?’”
Ihsaan said Kent responded immediately and offered access to their setup, allowing Hasan to work on his rehabilitation. He clarified that this was not being treated as a formal audition, but Kent’s staff still got the chance to assess Hasan directly while he bowled.
“They responded straight away: ‘Yes, of course. We want to sign him anyway, so we’re more than happy for him to use our facilities and practice here.’ That’s why Hasan was bowling there. It wasn’t an official trial; it was simply part of his injury rehab. But while he was bowling, the management got to see him face-to-face. And at the same time, an overseas slot at Kent opened up,” he said.
Ihsaan said he was not sure which exact overseas player had created the vacancy, explaining that Kent had three or four overseas cricketers rotating, including players from South Africa. Still, he said one slot became available, prompting Kent to move quickly.
“I’m not sure exactly which player it was, because they had a few overseas players on rotation, including guys from South Africa. But one slot did open. Once it did, Kent came to us and said, ‘Listen, we might be able to make this work now. What does his exact availability look like?’ We checked the calendar and realised there was an ideal window. He could play two matches in June, then return in September for four games,” Ihsaan said.
He added that Kent agreed immediately once the schedule fit, and that the contract has now been formally signed, with only the visa process remaining before Hasan travels. Once the paperwork is finalised, Hasan will fly in, play the June fixtures, and complete his county commitments.
“Kent agreed instantly because everything aligned perfectly. Now the contract is officially signed, everything is finalised, and we’re only waiting on the visa. Once it arrives, he will fly over, play the June games, and complete his contract,” Ihsaan said.
Ihsaan also outlined Hasan’s wider itinerary. Along with county cricket in June, Hasan has secured a Lanka Premier League (LPL) deal and is expected to follow that with additional international and franchise commitments.
“In the meantime, he also secured a Lanka Premier League deal. So his schedule is: play for Kent in June, then if he’s selected, play the bilateral series against Zimbabwe, head to Sri Lanka for the LPL, and then go into the series against Australia,” he said.
He said Hasan will travel to Australia for the Test series and, in September, return to England to complete the remaining County Championship games. Ihsaan noted that Hasan will miss the county matches in August, but Kent is comfortable with that decision because the club had known about the Australia assignment from the outset.
“He will travel to Australia for the Test series, and then in September he’ll fly back to England to play the remaining county matches for Kent. The only county fixtures he’ll miss are the ones in August, but Kent is fine with it because they knew about the Australia series from the start. They told us, ‘If he has to represent Bangladesh in Australia, no problem. He can play there and then come back to finish the season with us,’” Ihsaan added.
Finally, Ihsaan summed up the background to the agreement, saying it had been building behind the scenes long before it appeared to happen quickly from the outside.
“That’s the full story behind the deal. It’s been in the works in the background for a very long time, even if it might look like it happened overnight from the outside,” he said.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials said they would be happy to see Hasan feature in county cricket, as long as it does not interfere with national responsibilities. Shahriar Nafees, the BCB’s in-charge of cricket operations, said the board is open to players pursuing county stints provided it doesn’t impact their international commitments.
“We are open for him, and for that matter any cricketer, if that is not having an impact on his national commitment,” Nafees told Cricbuzz when asked about Hasan’s no-objection certificate for Kent.
Hasan has also received another boost ahead of the season after being chosen by Colombo Kaps for the upcoming Lanka Premier League. The fast bowler has played 13 Tests and taken 36 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls and one four-wicket haul. He has also produced strong white-ball numbers, claiming 33 wickets in 26 One-Day Internationals and 28 wickets in 26 T20 Internationals.
