Yorkshire County Cricket Club have announced that Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has joined them on a short-term deal.

Sarfraz will replace Australian batsman Peter Handscomb who will play his final T20 game this season for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire on Sunday in the NatWest T20 Blast.

“I’ve always wanted to play county cricket so this is an exciting opportunity for me,” Sarfraz was quoted as saying by yorkshireccc.com.

“Yorkshire are a big club with a rich history and huge reputation and I’m proud to be following in the footsteps of other Pakistanis who have played at Headingley like Younus Khan and Inzamam-ul Haq. It’s a dream come true for me and hopefully it can help me become an even better professional.

“I hope I can contribute towards some victories while I’m there and provide the crowd the sort of entertainment they’re looking for. I look forward to having a taste of the T20 Blast.”

It is anticipated Sarfraz will play in Yorkshire’s last five qualifying NatWest T20 Blast matches and also feature in the knockout games if they make it to that stage of the competition.

The wicketkeeper-batsman recently led the Pakistan team in a victorious ICC Champions Trophy campaign, after which he was appointed as the captain of Pakistan’s Test side as well.