Hampshire sign Afridi for Twenty20

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been signed by Hampshire to play in the domestic Twenty20 Cup this summer. He follows Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, to the county. "I am looking forward to playing for Hampshire and looking forward to a successful Twenty20 campaign," said Afridi.

Hampshire have also been in discussions to sign Shane Warne, their former captain, for the Twenty20 tournament, although these have yet to come to fruition. In an effort to raise the profile of England's Twenty20 Cup competition, counties will be able to include four overseas players in their squads next season but only two will be allowed in each game. Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar have been linked to Middlesex, and Cameron White will be rejoining his old county Somerset.

"I am delighted that Shahid has signed to play for us in the Friends Provident T20," said team manager Giles White. "He is renowned as one of the best Twenty20 players in the world and is a match-winner with both bat and ball. It is an exciting prospect for the club and its supporters to have two such exciting players involved in this year's competition."

Afridi, 29, has risen to become one of the world's most explosive Twenty20 players and is sure to have an impact on the competition this summer. He was player of the tournament at the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and led Pakistan to victory in the 2009 competition with two half-centuries in the semi-final and final.