Has is here to stay!
Hassan Ali made a fabulous introduction to life at Yorkshire in 2026, claiming wickets galore and starring with the bat too.
The Pakistani fast bowler has signed a new two-year contract with the county through until the end of 2028, covering the Vitality Blast competition.
Hassan was the leading wicket-taker in last season’s Blast, claiming 27 wickets in 12 matches. He played at least two fewer games than all of his closest rivals on that list as well.
The 32-year-old also crashed a brilliant 31 not out on debut against Derbyshire at Headingley in late May as Yorkshire chased down a target of 195 having been 139-8 in the 16th over. He shared a ninth-wicket partnership with AJ Tye (32 not out) which will live long in the memory.
Hassan, a key reason why Yorkshire got to the quarter-finals, claimed a pair of four-wicket hauls in matches against Leicestershire, one a defeat at Grace Road and the other a victory at Headingley.
He was potent with both the new ball and at the death for the White Rose.
His final appearance of 2026, the quarter-final against Somerset at Headingley, was the 250th of his T20 career.
He struck at least once in each of his 12th matches for the county, for whom he also played twice in the Rothesay County Championship. Whether that happens again in 2027 and 2028 remains to be seen.
Yorkshire fans will now know all too well that the Punjab-born pacer has a fire and brimstone approach to the game.
He is well known the world over for a wicket celebration which he says indicates a bomb going off for the batter.
“You know, he’s gone,” he once said.
Yorkshire represents Hassan’s third county stint after playing for Lancashire and then Warwickshire between 2022 and 2025.
In June 2025, he played against Yorkshire for Warwickshire at Headingley, a game the visitors won by 32 runs on the back of posting a 205-8 total.
He crashed 22 not out off eight balls, including two sixes, to give the total a late boost before taking the new ball and returning 2-32 from four overs.
The right-armer was amongst the top five leading wicket-takers in the competition that summer with 25 from 12 matches, including a remarkable career best 6-23 in a win over Derbyshire at Edgbaston.
That performance, which included a hat-trick, came less than a week before the aforementioned Headingley contribution.
Hassan has now played more than 150 times across all formats for Pakistan since debuting in ODI cricket in August 2016. He has taken 262 wickets for his country, including five-fors across all formats.
He was the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 13 from five matches when Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in England in mid-summer 2017. He was named player-of-the-tournament.
A bustling fast bowler with loads of skill, he is ideally suited to T20 cricket but superb in the other formats as well.
