Pakistan cricketers could miss out on contracts with franchises owned by teams from the Indian Premier League in the upcoming season of The Hundred, with reports suggesting that these teams have chosen not to consider them for next month's player auction.
The upcoming season of The Hundred, scheduled from July 21 to August 16, is set to witness a significant rise in player salaries following private investment into the tournament. However, Pakistani cricketers are unlikely to benefit from the financial windfall, as franchises from the IPL have not engaged them since 2009 owing to strained diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring nations.
"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 is an eight-franchise tournament, with Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds among the teams that are at least partly owned by entities which also control franchises 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 further stated that the owners of the four franchises were approached for comment, but none had responded.
"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."
The report said that Imad Wasim represented Northern Superchargers last season, which has been rechristened to Sunrisers Leeds.
Several other Pakistan players, including Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf, have featured in The Hundred, but no Pakistan woman cricketer has so far appeared in the competition.
It is pertinent to note that no Pakistan cricketer has featured in SA20 since its launch in 2023, with all six teams owned by franchise groups linked to the IPL. Similarly, in the UAE's ILT20, franchises controlled by the owners of MI London and Southern Brave have not signed a single Pakistan player across 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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