Teams with an Indian investment would not consider any Pakistani players for the upcoming edition of The Hundred, the England and Wales Cricket Board's showpiece tournament.
Pakistani players have not appeared in any edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009, and no Pakistani player has ever competed in South Africa's SA20, as all six teams are owned by IPL owners.
The forthcoming season of The Hundred, which runs from July 21 to August 16, is expected to see a large increase in player salaries due to private funding in the competition. However, Pakistani cricketers are unlikely to profit from the financial windfall.
The IPL owners have made investments in four of the Hundred's eight franchises: Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds. The ownership went into effect on October 1, 2025.
According to the BBC, a top ECB official has already told an agent that interest in his Pakistani players will be confined to clubs with no ties to IPL owners.
“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 the BBC in a report on Thursday.
Another agent, on the other hand, described the situation as an "unwritten rule" in other leagues where Indians have invested.
"Another agent described the situation as 'an unwritten rule' across T20 leagues with Indian investment," the report added.
When asked about the current development, Manchester Super Giants deputy chair James Sheridan stated that the entire organization is still focused on constructing the greatest possible squad.
“The only conversations we've had are to pick the two best squads to give us the best possible chance of winning the two competitions,” Sheridan was quoted as saying by the BBC.
On the other hand, the ECB spokesperson said, “The Hundred welcomes men's and women's players from all over the world, and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that. Almost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players each from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the West Indies.”
According to the article, Imad Wasim played with the Northern Superchargers last season, which have since been renamed Sunrisers Leeds. Several additional Pakistani players, including Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Haris Rauf, have competed in The Hundred; however, no Pakistani lady cricketer has yet participated.
Picking up no Pakistan players comes as no surprise to Indian owners. Even in the ILT20, franchises owned by MI London and Southern Brave have never signed a Pakistani player in four seasons, while signing players from 15 other countries.
"Every player should have the right to fair and equal opportunity. While employers have autonomy in recruitment, those decisions should always align with principles of fairness, equality, and respect,” the report quoted Tom Moffat, chief executive of the World Cricketers' Association.
(PTI inputs)
