Shahid Afridi signs up for Kent

Shahid Afridi: unorthodox, but quite devastating when he gets it on © Cricinfo

Shahid Afridi, rejected by both the Pakistan national side and Pakistan A, has been signed up by Kent on a short-term contract. Afridi is replacing Mohammad Sami, who has been called up for national duty, and will play six games for Kent - though it has not been specified which six.

The Pakistan newspaper, The News, has reported that Afridi will make his debut for Kent on July 4, in a National League division one limited-overs match against Essex. It is not yet known if he will play the Twenty20 Cup. Kent's first Twenty20 game is on July 2, against Middlesex.

Afridi was already in England when Kent approached him, playing for Lashings, along with his former team-mates, Wasim Akram and Rashid Latif. He represented Leicestershire in 2001 and Derbyshire, briefly, in 2003. His fellow overseas professional in Kent is Andrew Symonds, which could make for some pretty exciting cricket if both these explosive big-hitters get going at the same time.