[caption id="attachment_1614092" align="alignnone" width="536"] Photo: Somerset Cricket/Twitter[/caption] Pakistani batsman Azhar Ali has returned to the southwest club, Somerset. The former captain will be available for selection for both the Specsavers County Championship and the Royal London One-Day Cup. Somerset Director of Cricket Andy Hurry said that “We are delighted to have secured a player of Azhar’s quality and experience for the duration of the summer."

BREAKING: Delighted to announce that Azhar Ali will be returning to Somerset County Cricket Club for the entire 2019 season! 🤝#WeAreSomerset @AzharAli_ @TheRealPCB pic.twitter.com/fH2ftXjqgl

— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) November 26, 2018

Azhar became the first Pakistani player earlier this year to hit a century on debut in the county championship. He scored 135 for Somerset against Worcestershire at New Road. Related: Azhar Ali retires from limited-overs cricket He scored over 400 runs in seven Specsavers County Championship matches for Somerset in 2018. “I very much enjoyed my time with the club this year and I am really pleased to be going back. Somerset is a special club and it was a pleasure to play for them in 2018,” said Azhar. He added that he looks forward to seeing everyone again next year. The 33-year-old announced retirement from one-day cricket on November 1. He is currently playing the second test against New  Zealand in Dubai.