Pakistani cricketers may not get contracts with teams owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises in the next season of The Hundred. Reports say these teams have decided not to consider Pakistani players in next month’s auction.
The new season of The Hundred, which will run from July 21 to August 16, is expected to offer much higher salaries after private investors put money into the tournament. However, Pakistani players are unlikely to benefit from this increase. IPL franchises have not signed Pakistani cricketers since 2009 due to ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.
“A senior official from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) indicated to an agent that interest in his Pakistan players would be limited to sides not linked to the IPL,” said BBC in a report on Thursday.
The Hundred has eight teams in total. Some of them — like Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds — are partly owned by companies that also own teams in the IPL.
“Another agent described the situation as ‘an unwritten rule’ across T20 leagues with Indian investment,” the report added.
Last year, Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, had reportedly said he expected “players from all nations to be selected for all teams” in The Hundred, while also stressing that the organisers had implemented “clear anti-discrimination policies” to ensure fairness.
The report also said that the owners of the four teams were contacted for a response, but none of them replied.
“The Hundred welcomes men’s and women’s players from all over the world and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that,” said an ECB spokesperson.
“Almost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players respectively from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.”
No Pakistani Woman Has Featured in The Hundred Despite Male Players’ Participation
The report said that Imad Wasim played for Northern Superchargers last season, a team that has now been renamed Sunrisers Leeds. Other Pakistani players such as Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf have also played in The Hundred. However, no Pakistani woman cricketer has taken part in the tournament so far.
It is also worth noting that no Pakistani player has played in the SA20 league since it started in 2023, as all six teams are owned by groups connected to the IPL. In the same way, in the UAE’s ILT20 league, teams run by the owners of MI London and Southern Brave have not signed any Pakistani players in four seasons.
“Every player should have the right to fair and equal opportunity,” the report quoted Tom Moffat, chief executive of the World Cricketers’ Association, the global players’ union, as saying. “While employers have autonomy in recruitment, those decisions should always align with principles of fairness, equality, and respect.”
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