Pakistan fast bowler joins Yorkshire for 2026 Vitality Blast season

Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali is set to join the English county of Yorkshire for the 2026 Vitality Blast season. The 31-year-old will come in as an injury replacement for Afghanistan’s Naveen Ul-Haq.

Apart from joining the T20 squad. Ali will also represent the White Rose county in two County Championship games, against Warwickshire at home and against newly-promoted Leicestershire. 

Ali has had a plethora of experience playing in England’s domestic T20 tournament. The Pakistan seamer has previously played three seasons in the Vitality Blast, all for Warwickshire. He has played 22 games in the tournament, taking 44 wickets along the way. This includes picking 25 scalps from 12 matches last season. 

Ali’s standout game for Warwickshire last season came against Derbyshire at Edgbaston, where he took his career best figures of 6 for 23.

“Whilst we’re naturally disappointed to not see Naveen join us this year, in Hasan we have an exceptional replacement. He arrives with a wealth of experience and a skillset that we believe will be invaluable to the group. We’re delighted to have secured someone of Hasan’s quality at such short notice, and everyone at the Club is looking forward to welcoming him to Headingley next month,” General Manager of Cricket, Gavin Hamilton said.

Ali is currently part of the Karachi Kings squad competing in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL). At the time of writing, the seam bowler has taken nine wickets from four games at an economy rate of 7.37.

The fast bowler, capped 150 times for Pakistan across formats, would bring in a wealth of experience to a Yorkshire side which finished second from bottom in the North Group standings last season. Their highest wicket-taker in 2025 was New Zealand’s Will O’Rourke, who took 15 wickets from 10 matches. 

Ali would join a host of Pakistan players who have represented Yorkshire in recent seasons. These include Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq, and Abdullah Shafique, to name a few.