Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed is set to join English county side Kent as fellow pacer Shoriful Islam is most likely to be denied a No Objection Certificate by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

It was learnt that Kent had expressed interest in signing Shoriful earlier this month, but the board chose to keep the left-armer with the national setup, considering his workload management.

Shoriful would have become the second Bangladeshi pacer to feature for Kent this season after Hasan Mahmud, who has already played for the county and is expected to return for a few more matches in September after national team duty.

However, Kent could still have another Bangladesh fast bowler in their ranks next month, with Khaled in line to make his county debut. The English club are interested in the 33-year-old, and he is expected to join them if his visa is processed in time.

The agency managing Khaled, Cricket with Sami, announced the development on social media. Khaled can feature in three championship matches for them.

Khaled was part of Bangladesh’s squad for their recently completed two-Test series in Australia but did not play in either of the matches.

He has, however, impressed in the nets and remains part of Bangladesh’s plans for their upcoming Test assignments.

Khaled has represented Bangladesh in 18 Tests, taking 34 wickets. His best Test figures include a five-wicket haul in the West Indies and a four-wicket haul in South Africa.

Kent are currently second in the table of division two with five fixtures remaining.