England captain Harry Brook has condemned the idea of excluding Pakistan players from The Hundred amid reports that franchises, owned by IPL investors, may choose not to sign Pakistani players.
According to reports in the British media, four franchises in The Hundred—Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds—whose ownership groups include investors of Indian origin, may opt not to select Pakistani players at next month’s auction.
Brook responded to the speculation, saying it would be a shame not to see cricketers from Pakistan in the 100-ball league.
“Our main focus now is what’s coming up in the T20 World Cup. It’s not really any of our business, to be honest. I would say Pakistan have been a great cricketing nation for many years. I think there are about 50 or 60 players in the auction and it would be a shame not to see some of them in there,” Brook remarked.
Pakistan players have been a constant feature of The Hundred since the league’s inception.
“There are some amazing cricketers and they bring great crowds as well. It would be a shame not to see some of the Pakistan players in there, making the tournament and competition even better,” he added.
Over 950 cricketers have put their names forward for the first-ever auctions, set to take place in London on 11 March for the women’s competition and 12 March for the men’s event. The list includes prominent names such as – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub and Usman Tariq.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are notable absentees from the auction list, as they will be taking part in the Test series against the West Indies in August.
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