Faheem Ashraf and Kieron Pollard: Northamptonshire duo's contracts cancelled

Pollard is a regular in overseas T20 franchise leagues, including the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash

Northamptonshire overseas signings Faheem Ashraf and Kieron Pollard have both had their contracts cancelled for the 2020 season by mutual consent.

Pakistan all-rounder Faheem, 26, was signed as an all-format player for the first half of the season and West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard, 33, was set to play in the T20 Blast.

Head coach David Ripley said cancelling the deals was "really disappointing".

"They're superb players. There was a buzz around them joining," he added.

Several counties have cancelled deals with overseas players for 2020 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty over when the English season might be able to begin.

Northants chief executive Ray Payne said he hoped the duo will be able to play for the club at some stage in the future.

"There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes," said Payne.

"We don't have any schedule yet for next season so those players don't know where they're going to be. But once we've got a schedule, we'll definitely be talking to them about coming back."

Northamptonshire have also signed Ireland all-rounder Paul Stirling for this summer's T20 Blast.