Ashraf has joined for the 20-over competition that starts next week and will also be available for the two County Championship matches during the group stage.
The 32-year-old all-rounder replaces Australian all-rounder Will Sutherland, who has a stress fracture of his bowling shoulder, and is the club’s eighth Pakistani overseas signing in just over four years.
Ashraf follows in the footsteps of Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique Imam-ul-Haq and Hasan Ali, the latter also recruited as an injury replacement for this season’s Blast after Naveen-ul-Haq, the Afghan pace bowler, suffered a similar injury to that of Sutherland.
“I’m delighted to be joining Yorkshire,” said Ashraf in a statement released to The Yorkshire Post.
“Many of my fellow Pakistan players have represented the club and have spoken highly of both the environment and the quality of players within the squad.
“I’m really looking forward to arriving at Headingley.”
Ashraf, who has lately been playing for Islamabad United at the Pakistan Super League, has made 147 appearances for his country in all formats (17 Tests, 45 one-day internationals and 85 T20 internationals).
Those T20 internationals have brought him 61 wickets at 25.22 with an economy rate of just under eight runs per over and a strike-rate of a wicket every 19 deliveries.
Ashraf took Pakistan’s first T20 international hat-trick, against Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi in 2017, and in all T20 matches has captured 268 wickets in 275 games.
Having hailed Ali as an “exceptional replacement” for Naveen, who was to have been the first Afghan player to wear the White Rose, Gavin Hamilton, the Yorkshire general manager of cricket, was equally complimentary about Ashraf, who bowls nippy right-arm seam and is a hard-hitting left-hand lower-order batsman.
Hamilton and the coaching team moved quickly to identify him when Sutherland fell injured, the signing now officially approved by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“Faheem is an experienced multi-format player who will be a really valuable addition to the squad,” said Hamilton.
“He brings a great ability to score quick lower order runs as well as the skill to make a real impact with the ball.”
Ashraf and Ali will help give Yorkshire’s T20 team an excitingly unfamiliar look when the tournament begins on Friday week, when Yorkshire face Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge.
Yorkshire have also recruited as domestic/non-overseas players for T20 the former England all-rounder Moeen Ali and the Australian fast bowler Andrew (A.J.) Tye, while there will be another new face T20-wise in the form of the all-format recruit Sam Whiteman, the Doncaster-born Australian batsman, who has played in the early stages of the Championship.
Yorkshire have another overseas option for T20 should they need it in Logan van Beek, the Dutch international, who has also been playing in the Championship, although only two overseas players can feature at any one time.
Two of Ashraf, Ali and van Beek are available for the Championship games that take place during the T20 group stage against Warwickshire at Scarborough (June 12-15) and against Leicestershire at Grace Road (June 19-22).
