Nottinghamshire sign Ben Lister, Fazalhaq Farooqi for T20 Blast group stages

New Zealand international Lister will be available for the first eight games of the competition.

Nottinghamshire on Wednesday signed New Zealand's left-arm seamer Ben Lister and Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi for the T20 Blast group stages this season. "New Zealand international Lister will be available for the first eight games of the competition before the break for two County Championship fixtures in late June," Nottinghamshire CCC said in an official statement.

Farooqi will take the reins for the final six group-stage games - subject to NOC approval - beginning with the Outlaws' hosting of Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge. The 23-year-old has 92 wickets in 76 T20 games at an average of just over 21. His career to date boasts spells in the Big Bash League, Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League and International League T20, where he recently took career-best figures of 4/25.

"Given the success Shaheen had with us last year, bringing in left-arm seam options again made sense - it creates a different set of challenges for batters," head coach Peter Moores said as quoted by Nottinghamshire. "In Ben and Fazalhaq, we have proven wicket-takers who can make an impact on the game in crucial moments, which is what we are after. Ben is an exciting talent who is establishing himself on the world stage after consistent performances domestically. He's made a difference in the teams he has played for and has the potential to do the same with us," Moores said.

"Meanwhile Fazalhaq is a world-class player with experience on the franchise circuit and in international cricket, with a proven ability to bowl at the death. His know-how under pressure will be important in our group stage run-in. We look forward to welcoming them both to Nottinghamshire later this season," he added. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)