Mohammad Amir to don Gloucestershire colours in T20 Vitality Blast

London, June 17 (IANS) Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Amir will don Gloucestershire colours for the remaining T20 Vitality Blast matches for the county side as a replacement for fellow countryman Naseem Shah.

Amir, who is no stranger to T20 cricket having made 50 T20 appearances for Pakistan taking 59 wickets, recently played for Galle Gladiators in the Lanka Premier League where he made six appearances and helped the side reach the final.

The county said it is awaiting clearance from Pakistan Cricket Board for Amir to play for them, and added that "this is expected imminently".

Steve Snell, Gloucestershire Cricket Performance Director, said, "We're delighted to welcome back Mohammad to the squad. He's a proven international performer and to have his experience available to us for the remainder of the Blast tournament will be invaluable.

"He has spent a lot of time with us this season and he knows the environment well, so for him to join us at this time will greatly help as we look to kick on for the second half of the T20 Blast campaign."

In April this year, Amir made a return to first-class cricket after signing a three-match deal to play for Gloucestershire in the County Championship.

Amir also has previous experience of playing in English cricket having enjoyed two spells at Essex as an overseas signing in 2017 and 2019. In 2017 he featured for Essex during their title-winning County Championship campaign and in the T20 Blast campaign, in which he took a combined 28 wickets across both competitions.