Hundred Auction: Coaches Deny IPL Ban on Pakistan Players | Cricket News
The question of whether Pakistani players would be excluded from The Hundred, England’s franchise cricket competition, continues to simmer, despite assurances from league and team officials. While a blanket ban hasn’t been explicitly enforced, the reality on the ground suggests a significant hurdle for Pakistani cricketers seeking to participate, particularly within franchises linked to the Indian Premier League.
Reports surfaced in February indicating that teams with IPL investment – Manchester Super Giants, Southern Brave, MI London, and Sunrisers Leeds – would refrain from bidding on Pakistani players in the upcoming auction. This followed a pattern observed in other T20 leagues globally, including the IPL itself (where Pakistani players haven’t been included since ), the SA20 in South Africa, and the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates. The underlying cause is widely understood to be the ongoing political tensions between India, and Pakistan.
Following the reports, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and all eight Hundred franchises released a joint statement emphasizing that player selection would be “based solely on cricketing performance, availability, and the needs of each team,” explicitly stating that “players must not be excluded on the grounds of nationality.” However, the practical impact of this statement remains unclear as the men’s auction approaches on .
The women’s Hundred auction, held prior to the men’s, offered a preliminary indication of the situation. No Pakistani players were selected by any of the eight teams. Now, Pakistani men, including prominent fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi, and spinner Usman Tariq, are set to be involved in the men’s auction. Whether they will attract bids from the IPL-linked franchises is the central question.
Adi Birrell, head coach of both Sunrisers Leeds women and Sunrisers Eastern Cape men, offered a nuanced perspective. Birrell, whose Sunrisers Leeds team is part of the Sunrisers’ global network encompassing teams in India and South Africa (where Sunrisers Eastern Cape competes in the SA20, a league that has never featured a Pakistani player), stated he had “never been told not to sign a Pakistan player.” He added, “I’m sure there will be some interest in some players tomorrow,” and expressed a presumption that teams with IPL links would indeed display interest, stating, “I presume so. I haven’t heard that they won’t bid for them.”
Sunrisers Leeds and Southern Brave are the two Hundred teams with direct ownership ties to IPL franchises. Brave, specifically, is owned by the part-owners of Delhi Capitals. Jonathan Batty, head coach of Southern Brave women, echoed the ECB’s stated policy, saying, “The only thing I’ve been told is ‘sign the best players to make this the best squad you possibly can.’ We’ve had no other instructions than that and we’ve had total autonomy on who we sign. That’s how it’s been with the women’s team.”
The situation highlights a complex interplay between sporting merit, political realities, and financial interests. While the ECB and franchises publicly commit to inclusivity, the historical precedent and the ownership structures suggest a less straightforward outcome. The absence of Pakistani players in leagues with IPL investment isn’t a formal rule, but rather, as one player agent described it, “an unwritten rule.”
The implications extend beyond individual players. The exclusion of Pakistani talent from The Hundred, even if unofficial, limits the league’s potential to showcase a truly global pool of cricketing talent. It also raises questions about the extent to which political considerations should influence sporting decisions, and whether the pursuit of commercial partnerships should come at the expense of inclusivity. The auction results will be closely watched as a barometer of how these competing forces will shape the future of The Hundred and, more broadly, the landscape of international franchise cricket.
The ECB’s commitment to non-discrimination, as articulated in their statement, is further underscored by their broader stance on player participation in other leagues. A policy enacted in bars English players from participating in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and other franchise tournaments that clash with England’s domestic summer, while continuing to permit participation in the IPL. This decision, aimed at prioritizing the domestic game, demonstrates a clear prioritization of the English cricket calendar and, implicitly, a willingness to navigate complex geopolitical considerations in the interest of its own players and competitions.