The Blast has attracted its fair share of overseas stars over the years. Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers with the bat. Kagiso Rabada, Sunil Narine with the ball. For the 2026 edition, a few lesser-known names may prove just as important for their counties.
There's a teenage Afghan prodigy returning to a county that already loves him. A South African finisher with a death-overs record that borders on outrageous. A mystery spinner no English batter has faced before. An all-rounder fresh off an IPL call-up, and a 40-year-old Zimbabwean who plays like he's 26.
Big Hit Cricket's ball-by-ball T20 database has the numbers on all five.
| Player | County | Role | Key stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar | Derbyshire | Spinner | Economy 7.54, wicket every 19 balls |
| Tristan Stubbs | Hampshire | Batter | SR 142.7 (190.3 at death) |
| Dian Forrester | Kent | Batting allrounder | SR 146.7 (191.8 at death) |
| Usman Tariq | Warwickshire | Spinner | Economy 7.08, average 17.25 |
| Sikandar Raza | Worcestershire | Allrounder | 5,653 runs + 214 wickets |
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar — Derbyshire Falcons
When Derbyshire's Head of Cricket Mickey Arthur said Ghazanfar "was clear with me over the winter that he wanted to come back," it told you everything. His 2025 Blast campaign — 16 wickets in 14 games, best economy in the team — had clearly left an impression. He enjoyed it. He was good at it. He's coming back.
He returns on the back of an IPL campaign with Mumbai Indians, where his 13 wickets (as of 20th May) place him third among all spinners at the tournament. His economy of 9.96 is more expensive than his career mark of 7.5, but that's the IPL. Derby in late May is a different proposition.
The broader career numbers tell the story of a bowler who takes wickets without giving much away. 47 wickets in 41 T20 matches, economy 7.54, a wicket every 19 balls on average. His 2026 IPL bowling strike rate — one every 15 balls — ranks him in the top five of all spinners to have bowled at least 200 balls this season.
He's even better in the powerplay. Economy of 7.14, dot ball percentage of 42% in the first six overs — nearly half his deliveries produce nothing. For a 20-year-old offbreak spinner bowling under pressure with the field up, that's a remarkable level of discipline.
He knows Derby. Derby knows what he can do. If the Falcons are going to push for the knockouts, he'll be central to it.
Tristan Stubbs — Hampshire Hawks
Stubbs is arguably the biggest overseas name in the Blast this season, and that's entirely down to what he does at the death.
Since becoming a regular in T20 cricket in 2022, he has the 7th-best death-overs strike rate in the world, and the 2nd-best average. Those numbers have earned him a big reputation, and a lot of money.
What makes him different isn't just that he hits hard — he barely wastes a delivery. Ones and twos keep the scoreboard moving while he waits for the right ball. Only Darryl Mitchell has a better non-boundary strike rate since 2022. It's a more complete approach to death batting than most people give him credit for.
| Phase | Strike rate | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Powerplay | 92.4 | 28.3 |
| Middle overs | 119.4 | 33.8 |
| Death overs | 190.3 | 39.6 |
He gets better the later the innings goes. That's not common.
His IPL form with Delhi has been patchy this season, but if Hampshire hold him back for a late entry — overs 17 and beyond — they'll have something most sides in this competition don't. The Rose Bowl plays big. Stubbs hits far.
Kent's left-field signing
Dian Forrester — Kent Spitfires
Not many people had Dian Forrester circled when Kent brought him in as a late replacement for the injured Senuran Muthusamy. That's probably going to change.
The 25-year-old only has 24 T20 matches to his name, but what's in them is hard to ignore. 509 runs, average of 39.15, strike rate of 146.69. Averaging close to 40 while scoring at nearly 150 from positions five and six is the profile every T20 franchise is chasing.
His death-over strike rate is 191.79. Same territory as Stubbs, smaller sample. But it confirms that Kent haven't signed a stop-gap — they've found a genuine finisher.
Sam Billings played alongside Forrester in the PSL and already knows what he brings. Forrester also scores at a strike rate of 176.62 when setting totals, so this isn't a one-dimensional chasing specialist — he can take charge of an innings either way. He bowls right-arm seam too, which gives Billings a genuine extra option.
He'll miss the first two games (June 7 and 9) for South Africa A duties. But from game three, Kent have something in their lineup that opponents may not have accounted for.
Usman Tariq — Warwickshire Bears
Wisden called him the "Two-Elbow Pakistan spinner." His delivery action — a distinctive pause before release — produces offbreaks, googlies and flicked legbreaks in a way that has genuinely confused top-order batters across franchise cricket. County cricketers haven't had to deal with this kind of mystery since Rashid Khan came to the Blast.
The T20 international numbers give you the headline: 18 wickets in 9 games, economy 6.66. In franchise cricket, it's similar — 64 wickets across 40 T20 matches, average 17.25, a wicket every 14 to 15 balls.
His middle-overs record stands out most: economy of 6.59 and 43 wickets between overs seven and fifteen. English conditions — cloud cover, soft pitches, uncertain bounce — can help spinners find their rhythm, but Tariq's real advantage is that county batters simply haven't seen the action before. You don't adjust to a two-elbow release in a few deliveries. You might not adjust to it in a whole season.
Birmingham Phoenix paid £140,000 for him at The Hundred auction. Warwickshire get him first. If Edgbaston gets some cloud cover in late May, he could make for a very difficult afternoon.
Sikandar Raza — Worcestershire Rapids
Some players age gracefully. Raza just keeps playing T20 cricket at a high level and refuses to discuss the alternatives.
He arrives at New Road as a last-minute replacement for Ben Dwarshuis, who was pulled by Cricket Australia after an IPL call-up. Worcestershire's misfortune turned into something better. Raza brings 292 T20 appearances, 5,653 runs and 214 wickets. Either of those numbers on its own would make him a fine overseas signing. He has both.
At 40, the batting still works. Career strike rate of 135.89, average of 25.46, across a career that covers almost every major franchise competition in the world. He hits at 178.81 in the death overs. He's a late-order bat who can change the shape of a game.
With the ball, the death-overs numbers tell you what 15 years of T20 experience looks like: economy of 7.40, bowling strike rate of 12.22 — a wicket every 12 balls when batting teams are going for it. Worcestershire also have Usama Mir, a Pakistani legspinner on a long-term deal. New Road has one of the better overseas spin pairings in the competition, and Raza walks into a setup built to get the best out of him.
The luckiest piece of bad luck Worcestershire ever had? Probably.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the most dangerous overseas batter in the 2026 T20 Blast?
Tristan Stubbs (Hampshire) has the 7th-best death-overs strike rate in world T20 cricket since 2022 — 190.3 across 150 matches. Dian Forrester (Kent) is close behind at 191.8, though from a smaller sample of 24 games.
Who is the best overseas spinner in the 2026 T20 Blast?
Usman Tariq (Warwickshire) and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (Derbyshire) are the standout options. Tariq has 64 wickets at an average of 17.25 across 40 T20 matches. Ghazanfar took 16 wickets in 14 Blast games in 2025 and returns for the second half of the 2026 competition.
When does Ghazanfar join Derbyshire for the 2026 Blast?
Ghazanfar joins for the second half of the competition, replacing Sufiyan Muqeem. He is also available for the knockout stages if Derbyshire qualify.
Has Sikandar Raza played county cricket before?
Yes — Raza played for Northamptonshire in the 2024 T20 Blast and also appeared for Manchester Originals in The Hundred that year.
All statistics from the Big Hit Cricket database (May 2026) — ball-by-ball T20 records across all major competitions.
Track how these five perform once the Blast is underway with the Form Guide, or explore their career splits in the Stat Builder.