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Jason Behrendorff, the Australia left-arm seamer, has joined Middlesex for this season's Vitality Blast campaign as a replacement for Shaheen Shah Afridi, whom the club has confirmed will not be returning this season due to his international commitments with Pakistan. Behrendorff, 32, claimed a career-best 5 for 44 at Lord's during the 2019 World Cup, when Australia beat England during the tournament's group stages, although his career to date has been limited to 12 ODIs and nine T20Is. He will link up with the club as soon as his IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore is complete - they play Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator on Wednesday. In a further change to Middlesex's original line-up for their Blast campaign, Behrendorff's fellow Australian Chris Green will rejoin the club in early June, as a partial replacement for their original overseas signing, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is due to take part in Afghanistan's three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe but will still play at the start and end of the group stages. Green, 28, was impressive with both bat and ball for Middlesex in last summer's Blast campaign, playing in seven of the club's South Group matches, and like Behrendorff has also tasted success in the Big Bash League, winning the title with Sydney Thunder in 2017. Afghanistan's tour to Zimbabwe has caused a headache for several counties. ESPNcricinfo understands Rashid Khan will only arrive at Sussex after that tour in time for their ninth Blast fixture, with Mohammad Rizwan and Josh Phillipe filling their two overseas slots at the start of the season while Rashid is at the IPL. Rashid's Gujarat Titans team-mate Rahmanullah Gurbaz is also likely to miss most of the Blast, with Leicestershire lining up New Zealand's Hamish Rutherford as a replacement. Naveen-ul-Haq and Qais Ahmad, the other Afghanistan players involved in the Blast, have both arrived in the UK ahead of stints with Leicestershire and Kent respectively. "We are delighted to have added Jason and Chris to our T20 squad for the forthcoming Blast campaign," Alan Coleman, Middlesex's head of men's performance cricket, said. "With Shaheen heavily committed to international duty with Pakistan we needed to bring a quality seamer into the attack for our Blast campaign, and in Jason we have a left-arm seamer of proven international class. "With Mujeeb also leaving on international duty, we were keen to ensure that we were covered in the spin department, and we all know what Greeny is capable of in the short form of the game. He fit in brilliantly last summer and can play a match-winning role for us, so we're really looking forward to welcoming him back into the dressing room. "With more international cricket now being played it is becoming increasingly more difficult to secure the long-term availability of international players of the quality that you need over an extended period of time, and we are delighted that we've been able to secure players of the quality of Jason and Chris in the periods that we need them for. "
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