YORKSHIRE have confirmed the signing of Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed as a replacement for Peter Handscomb in the NatWest T20 Blast.

Australian Test batsman Handscomb plays his last Yorkshire home game of the season against Durham at Headingley tonight.

He will return home to Melbourne after the Blast clash with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Sunday to take part in a national training camp ahead of a potential Test tour to Bangladesh next month.

Sarfraz, 30, captained Pakistan to Champions Trophy success in England last month and he will debut against Derbyshire at Headingley next Thursday, subject to obtaining his visa.

Sarfraz, who will take the wicketkeeping gloves for Yorkshire, said: "I've always wanted to play county cricket, so this is an exciting opportunity for me.

"Yorkshire are a big club with a rich history and a huge reputation. I'm proud to be following in the footsteps of other Pakistanis who have played at Headingley like Younus Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

"It's a dream come true for me and hopefully it can help me become an even better professional.

"I hope I can contribute to some victories while I'm there and provide the crowd with the sort of entertainment they're looking for. I look forward to having a taste of the T20 Blast."

Sarfraz has only been signed to play T20 cricket for the Vikings, with the county's other Aussie Shaun Marsh to take up four-day duties for the last five County Championship matches.

Of Sarfraz's 120 career T20 appearances, 29 have come for his country, scoring 359 runs with two fifties since debuting in 2010. He has scored three Test and two one-day international centuries.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire will be unable to host a T20 quarter-final should they finish in the North Group's top two places.

Headingley is unavailable between August 23-29 due to the Test match between England and the West Indies, so the county will have to play away.