The 2022 T20 Blast commenced yesterday with two Pakistani players, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan, in action. The duo is representing Yorkshire Vikings, led by former England Test captain, Joe Root.
Apart from Haris and Shadab, four more Pakistani cricketers will be seen in action in England’s premier domestic T20 tournament. Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter, Mohammad Rizwan, opening batter, Shan Masood, fiery pacer, Naseem Shah, and all-rounder, Zafar Gohar, are the other four players who will represent various teams in the competition.
Mohammad Rizwan, who has been part of Sussex’s County Championship side this season, will be available to take part in the T20 Blast for the first few matches in the competition. Rizwan will travel back to Pakistan at the start of June as the Men in Green prepare to take on West Indies in the three-match ODI series.
Shan Masood will represent Derbyshire Falcons as the captain of the side. Shan was appointed as captain after a string of magnificent performances in the County Championship. This will be Shan’s first stint as captain in England and he will become only the second Pakistani to captain an English T20 team after legendary pacer, Wasim Akram.
Elsewhere, Naseem Shah and Zafar Gohar will represent Gloucestershire in the tournament. Both the players were part of their squad for the County Championship as well. While Zafar will be available for the entire tournament, Naseem will only be available till the end of the group stages.
As for Shadab and Haris, both the players will be available for the first five games for the side as they too will return to Pakistan for their ODI series against West Indies.
Here is the list of the Pakistani players in the T20 Blast:
| Player | Team |
| Shan Masood (C) | Derbyshire Falcons |
| Naseem Shah | Gloucestershire |
| Zafar Gohar | Gloucestershire |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Sussex Sharks |
| Haris Rauf | Yorkshire Vikings |
| Shadab Khan | Yorkshire Vikings |
