BIRMINGHAM
\nAs many as eight Pakistani players will feature in this year\u2019s edition of the Vitality Blast that is set to commence from Saturday (today) at Birmingham\u2019s Edgbaston stadium.
\nThis will be the 21st edition of the tournament which was the first precision T20 league when it started in June 2003 as the Twenty20 Cup.
\nPakistan\u2019s ace fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, experienced pacer Hasan Ali, stylish left-hand opening batsman Shan Masood, all-rounder Shadab Khan, left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, leg-spinner Usama Mir, young guns Haider Ali and Zaman Khan will be in action in the tournament which will last for nine weeks.
\nShaheen Shah Afridi
\nLeft-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has signed for Nottinghamshire Outlaws for this year\u2019s Blast.
\nIn the 2020 edition of the tournament, Shaheen briefly represented Hampshire Hawks. In a match against Middlesex, he took four wickets on four deliveries.
\nShan Masood
\nLeft-handed opening batter Shan Masood is leading Yorkshire Vikings this year.
\nMasood also featured in last year\u2019s Vitality Blast and was the highest run scorer for the Derbyshire Falcons. He scored 547 runs and led Falcons to quarter finals.
\nHasan Ali
\nExperienced Test cricketer Hasan Ali who\u2019s signed a contract with Warwickshire CCC for this season will feature in the T20 tournament as well.
\nRight-arm pacer Hasan will be in action for Birmingham Bears and is likely to lead the pace attack along with Chris Woakes.
\nShadab Khan
\nAll-rounder Shadab Khan has signed a deal with Sussex Sharks and will be representing them for the entirety of the tournament.
\nRight-arm leg spinner Shadab who leads Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) played for Yorkshire the last season.
\nHaider Ali
\nDerbyshire have signed explosive batsman Haider Ali for this county season. Haider will also play for Derbyshire Falcons in the T20 Blast tournament.
\nThe 22-year-old has played 33 T20Is for Pakistan. He has played for Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings in the PSL.
\nHaider was drafted by Derbyshire coach Mickey Arthur who is also the director of the Pakistan men\u2019s cricket team.
\nZafar Gohar
\nLeft-arm spinner Zafar Gohar will be in action again for Gloucestershire CCC. Zafar who\u2019s cemented his place in the Gloucestershire fold with his all-round performance in the last three seasons will be in action for Gloucester Gorillas in the blast.
\nZaman Khan
\nThe 21-year-old pacer has been drafted by Derbyshire Falcons for the tournament along with Haider Ali.
\nThe young pace sensation is a product of Lahore Qalandars\u2019 players development program and recently made his international debut for Pakistan in the T20I series against Afghanistan.
\nUsama Mir
\nLeg spinner Usama Mir will represent Worcestershire Rapids in the blast.
\nMir has played six ODIs for Pakistan and has featured for Karachi Kings and recently Multan Sultans in the PSL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BIRMINGHAM As many as eight Pakistani players will feature in this year\u2019s edition of the Vitality Blast that is set to commence from Saturday (today) at Birmingham\u2019s Edgbaston stadium. This will be the 21st edition of the tournament which was the first precision T20 league when it started in June 2003 as the Twenty20 Cup. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-332498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n