The English county club Leicestershire have secured the services of Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal, who will play in the NatWest T20 Blast as cover for Grant Elliott.

Akmal, 24, will be playing four games next month as cover for New Zealand’s batsman Grant Elliott, who will leave for their ODI series against England.

“It is brilliant that we are signing a player of Umar’s quality,” Head coach Andrew McDonald said.

“We are all looking forward to him showcasing his skills over the four games.”

BREAKING | We have signed exciting Pakistan international batsman Umar Akmal for four @NatWestT20Blast games in June: http://t.co/3mYnUkHPYc

— Leicestershire CCC (@leicsccc) May 13, 2015

The right-handed batsman has scored 2604 runs in 124 Twenty20 formats over the years with a strike rate of 128.65.

Akmal has also played 16 Tests and 111 one-day internationals over the years.

Leicestershire to begin their summer’s campaign on Friday against Lancashire.