Yorkshire turn back to Younis Khan

Younis Khan, Pakistan's veteran batsman, will join Yorkshire for the early part of the season until the big-hitting Australian Aaron Finch return from IPL duties.

Younis' main focus will be to bolster Yorkshire's Championship batting line-up at a time when the defending champions expect to lose several players to England for the Test tour of the West Indies in April and May. He will be available for the Championship opener against Worcestershire at New Road on April 12.

He might also play Yorkshire's first few matches in the NatWest t20 Blast and Yorkshire will hope this stirs interest in the Pakistan community in Leeds and Bradford that they have long sought to attract through the gates at Headingley with limited success.

Younis, 37, will join Yorkshire for a second time. In 2007, as the county's first Pakistan overseas batsman, he scored 824 runs at an average of 48.47 including a top score of 217 not out against Kent at Scarborough. He played alongside Jason Gillespie, now Yorkshire's coach, at the time.

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire's director of cricket, said: "We have been looking for a world-class batsman to strengthen our batting department at the start of the season. Younus fits the bill and will add real quality to our top-order.

"It also helps that he understands the culture of the club and what it means to play for Yorkshire. That was a major factor in signing him. We hope his vast experience will enable us to continue our efforts from last year and give us a great opportunity to get off to a winning start in the Championship campaign."

Younis, currently engaged in the World Cup in a career that has often stalled only to be renewed once more, has played in 96 Tests in a 14-year career for his country where he averages over 53. In 2009, he captained Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in England.