England’s Lancashire County Cricket Club has signed 19-year-old Afghan cricketer, Zahir Khan, who has played eight T20s and taken 15 wickets in seven first-class games.

Zahir played a vital role in Afghanistan’s run to the semi-final of the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in 2016 and featured prominently at the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which Afghanistan won to secure their status as a Test-playing nation last year.

"He is an exciting prospect and gives us another option with the ball," Lancashire head coach Glen Chapple said.

Khan said: “I’m really excited to be signing for Lancashire for the rest of the campaign. It’s always been an ambition of mine to play county cricket in England and test myself against some of the world’s best players. I can’t wait to get started now.

“I have heard a lot of good things about Lancashire and Emirates Old Trafford from Jos Buttler when I played with him at the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and I hope to make a significant contribution during my stay here.”

At only 19, Zahir has stood out on the world stage.

In January 2018, he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. He made his first-class debut for Afghanistan against Papua New Guinea in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup on 21 November 2015 andplayed for the Afghanistan U-19 team in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

In December 2017, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. 

In May 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for their inaugural Test match, played against India, but he was not selected for the match.