Yorkshire CCC boss Darren Gough searching for batting cover ahead of the new season

Pakistan host the Kiwis in a three-match T20 series from April 13-23, then a five-match ODI series from April 26-May 7.

Masood could miss the first four County Championship games depending on whether he is selected for both series and whether he would be allowed to play in the Championship opener against Leicestershire at Headingley, which is scheduled to finish just four days before the first T20.

Gough’s desire to sign a batsman for what is actually an opening batch of five Championship fixtures before the start of the T20 Blast comes after the club lost New Zealand seamer Neil Wagner to injury.

Wagner suffered a torn right hamstring and a bulging disc in his back while playing against Sri Lanka earlier this month, having signed a deal last December to appear in the opening 10 Championship fixtures.

Although Gough has not completely ruled out the possibility of Wagner returning at some stage if promotion/silverware is at stake and the various stars align, he is grappling with the increasing reality of a modern game in which it is seemingly impossible to sign an overseas player and be guaranteed that he will actually be available.

With Harry Brook having done so well for England lately, and with Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan often unavailable due to England and/or other commitments, it leaves Yorkshire light on batting as they strive to bounce back from Championship relegation and to win their first white-ball trophy for 21 years.

“I’m trying to find a middle-order batter for that first block of five Championship games,” said Gough.

“With Wagner injured it’s one way of getting a batter on the staff, so I’m looking at the minute and we’ll see where we go.

“But visas are a problem, fixtures are a problem, the IPL is a problem, and so on. But we’ve got a couple of names in mind and hopefully we can do something in the next few days.”

When Yorkshire recruited Masood last August, he had played three Tests in the previous two years, had not played one-day international cricket for getting on for four years and had yet to make his T20 international debut.

Since then, he has played three Tests since mid-December alone, got back into the ODI side and made 19 T20 international appearances, complicating Yorkshire’s best-laid plans.

Masood, the 33-year-old left-hander, is currently in Afghanistan, where Pakistan play a three-match T20 series that starts on Friday and finishes on Monday.

“We don’t know what’s happening with Shan,” said Gough. “We don’t know if he’ll be picked for that forthcoming New Zealand series, or whether he’ll be picked for both the 50-over and the T20 parts of it, or what’s going on.

“He’s really honest about it and he hasn’t got a clue what’s happening; no one has. He might miss out, he might be picked, we’ve no idea.

“That’s how difficult it is now (signing overseas players). We signed a player who wasn’t playing for Pakistan, who’s an absolute gun signing, a top player, and then he gets picked for Pakistan.”

Gough continued: “We want to get someone for the middle-order because obviously Bairstow is not right yet anyway (after injury), you’ve got Brook missing, you’ve got Root missing, and we need a middle-order player more than anything.

“We can always play around with the top-order if Shan’s not available because we’ve got Hill, Fraine, Wharton who can all bat up top, so anyone who can bat a bit lower is what I’m looking at.

“The options are limited, but all you can do is do your research and try and find someone who can come in and do a job because we do need that experience, which is why I’m speaking to numerous agents in various countries.”

Wagner’s injuries are a setback for player and club, with Gough confirming: “Unfortunately, his injuries won’t allow him to come; he’s got a grade one hamstring and disc problems in his back.

“There would be no point in him coming for two matches in July - I think he’ll be injured for six-to-ten weeks but, listen, if we’re still in with a chance of doing something (later in the season) and we don’t get points docked (by the Cricket Discipline Commission over the racism case), we might look again further down the line.

“He’s a genuine bloke and he wants to do whatever’s right for the club.”