Ever since the IPL-based owners invested big money in The Hundred, there has been speculation that no team with Indian owners would be inclined to bid for Pakistani players in The Hundred. However, coaches have revealed that they have no such intention and have not been instructed to do so.
The Hundred commercialized their tournament as several IPL owners came in to own many of the Hundred franchises. A total of four teams will be owned by IPL-based owners with partial stakes, which will raise about 500 million pounds for the ECB for cricket.
Recently, when the Hundred Women’s auction took place for the first time in British cricket, three women cricketers, Danielle Gibson, Issy Wong, and Tilly Corteen-Coleman, were sold for an excess of 100,000 pounds, making them the highest-paid sportswomen from the UK.
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Players should not be excluded on the grounds of nationality – ECB issued a bold statement for IPL owners
After the immense speculations that Indian owners might ask their franchises not to bid for Pakistani players, several of the Hundred franchises and the ECB issued a statement saying that no player should be excluded due to their nationality.
The coaches who are associated with the Hundred have now informed that no such directive has been given to them. This came after the two Pakistani women cricketers who were part of the auction on Wednesday did not see a single bidder.
Thursday will mark 17 Pakistani men’s cricketers as part of the auction for the upcoming season of the Hundred. This might include the fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, alongside the spinner Usman Tariq.
“I haven’t heard that they won’t bid for them,” said Adi Birrell on sidelining Pakistan players
Adi Birrell, the head coach of the Sunrisers Leeds Women’s team in the Hundred, claimed to BBC Sport that he has not been asked by the owners to sideline Pakistani players. The Sunrisers Leeds are two of the Indian-owned teams that are outright owned by IPL franchise owners.
However, when asked about whether Pakistani men’s cricketers will get bidders from Indian-owned teams the next day, he simply said (as quoted by BBC), “I think so, but I don’t know. I presume so. I haven’t heard that they won’t bid for them.”
“The only thing I’ve been told is ‘sign the best players to make this the best squad you possibly can,” said the Brave’s coach. He said that otherwise, they had total autonomy on whom they sign. The Southern Brave are owned partially by the Delhi Capitals owners.
Why are Pakistan cricketers likely to be unsold?
Other than the Indian owners being a reason for Pakistani players being sidelined, several other sporting explanations also hold for their possible snub. One of the reasons could be their lack of form in international T20s and their flop show in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Another reason, which seems legitimate, is that the Pakistan players usually pull out of the competition on several occasions. Pakistan players have pulled out on shorter notice on former occasions.
Pakistan also have a Test series scheduled against the West Indies at the same time as this year’s Hundred, potentially affecting player availability. These reasons might also contribute to the non-selection of these players, rather than an intervention from IPL owners.
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