Lister has won 13 limited-overs caps for his country but is considered unlikely to feature in their World Cup plans, and will join Notts for the first eight games of the Blast's group stages this season before he being replaced by Farooqi. And subject to a No-Objection Certificate from the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Farooqi will feature in county cricket for the first time in his career, following the T20 World Cup, where he will spearhead Afghanistan's seam attack.

"Ben is an exciting talent who is establishing himself on the world stage after consistent performances domestically. He's made a difference in the teams he has played for, and has the potential to do the same with us. Meanwhile, Fazalhaq is a world-class player with experience on the franchise circuit and in international cricket, with a proven ability to bowl at the death. His knowhow under pressure will be important in our group stage run-in."

Notts had finished fourth in the North Group last year and were beaten by eventual champions Somerset in the quarter-finals. They will have a new-look Blast team this year following the departures of Samit Patel (Derbyshire) and Jake Ball (Somerset), with Steven Mullaney expected to feature predominantly for Notts Second XI after taking on a player-coach role.