English county side Lancashire have signed New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill for part of this season's T20 Blast tournament.
The right-handed Guptill will play six matches in the shortest format for the team from Manchester between his stint for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and New Zealand's tour to South Africa.
Guptill is ranked third in the T20 international batting rankings and averages 34.73 in 61 games for the Kiwis at a strike rate of 131.44, including one century.
Lancashire's Cricket Director, Ashley Giles, said: "Martin is a formidable batsman, particularly in white ball cricket, and is currently ranked as the world's third best batsman in T20 cricket.
"He's currently playing IPL cricket alongside Jos Buttler and will be ready to hit the ground running when he arrives at Emirates Old Trafford.
"He's got the ability to take games away from the opposition very quickly once he gets going and I'm sure our fans will really enjoy watching him play."
Lancashire are the defending champions of the T20 Blast.
