Derbyshire sign Mohammad Amir for first half of 2024 season

Derbyshire have signed former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir as an overseas player for the first half of the 2024 season. He is expected to be available to play in the Championship and T20 Blast.

Derbyshire had reportedly been exploring a move to bring in Amir as a local player, with the 31-year-old applying for British citizenship via his marriage. Amir worked with Derbyshire's head of cricket, Mickey Arthur, when the South African was Pakistan coach, and has previous experience of playing county cricket with Essex and Gloucestershire.

"Mohammad is a world-renowned fast bowler and someone who I am delighted to bring to Derbyshire," Arthur said. "He will lead our attack in red ball and T20 for the first half of next season and I'm so excited to see what he will produce.

"I know all about his quality, he has been a big-game player throughout his career and that's something I've seen first-hand. I know the Derbyshire supporters are going to love seeing Mohammad charging in."

Amir retired from international cricket in 2020, having represented Pakistan almost 150 times across the formats. His most-recent first-class appearance was for Gloucestershire in May 2022, but he has an impressive record with 266 wickets at 22.63. He has spent much of the last two years playing on the T20 circuit, featuring in the PSL, BPL, CPL and LPL, as well as the inaugural edition of the Hundred.

Amir said: "I've enjoyed my experiences of county cricket in the past and joining up with Mickey, who I've had so much success with internationally, is something I'm looking forward to.

"The County Championship is so special and I've always enjoyed playing first-class cricket in England. I've spoken to Mickey about the quality in the squad and I want to put in the performances to help Derbyshire challenge in red and white ball cricket next summer."