Afghanistan spinner Zahir Khan joins Lancashire

Lancashire have signed Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan for the remainder of the season.

Zahir, 19, has an impressive record with both red and white ball, having taken 34 first-class wickets at 13.14, alongside 19 at 22.42 in List A and 15 at 13.53 in T20 cricket. He is yet to make his international debut although he was part of Afghanistan's squad for their inaugural Test against India and played at last year's Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. He was also part of the Rajasthan Royals squad for this year's IPL before being ruled out due to an injury, without playing any game.

He becomes the fourth Afghanistan cricketer to join a county this season following Rashid Khan (Sussex), Mohammad Nabi (Leicestershire) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Hampshire).

"I'm really excited to be signing for Lancashire for the rest of the campaign, " he said. "It's always been an ambition of mine to play county cricket in England and test myself against some of the world's best players. I can't wait to get started now.

"I have heard a lot of good things about Lancashire and Old Trafford from Jos Buttler when I played with him at the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and I hope to make a significant contribution during my stay here."

Zahir's signing continues Lancashire's bolstering of their spin resources after they also brought in Scotland's left-arm spinner Mark Watt.