Pakistan pair of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq could be in line for county cricket deals according to latest reports.

According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, the two Pakistan batsmen could seen be playing in England’s domestic competitions soon if all goes to plan.

Azhar is reportedly in line to replace India skipper Virat Kohli at Surrey. Kohli was due to spend the month of June with the south London outfit but a neck injury sustained in the IPL meant that stint never took off.

Kohli’s loss, could be Azhar’s gain although a spokesperson from Surrey has denied that any talks have taken place with the Pakistan man.

Meanwhile, Shafiq is being targeted by Somerset to replace Australia’s Matt Renshaw according to the report.

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has backed Azhar and Shafiq to play country cricket due to their non-involvement in white-ball cricket.

“Our chosen players, we’re hoping to get Azhar and Asad to play some county cricket.  There is a little bit of interest at the moment, for a short period of time. Because those guys don’t go to these [T20] leagues and stuff, if they were to play county cricket we’d certainly encourage that,” the South African said.

Azhar and Shafiq were both part of the Pakistan Test side which achieved a 1-1 draw in the two-match series against hosts England.

Both the senior batsmen did not have the best of times personally with Azhar only managing to score 73 runs combined in the three Tests against Ireland and England. Shafiq managed to register two half-centuries in the three Tests but his form remained a mixed-bag for the most part.