England white-ball captain Harry Brook said it would be “a shame” if players from Pakistan are not picked in The Hundred, amid reports that some teams with Indian ownership may avoid signing them.A BBC report has suggested that Indian-owned franchises — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds — could refrain from selecting Pakistan players at the auction because of concerns about political backlash in India amid tensions between the two countries.
“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,” Brook, who has been signed by Sunrisers Leeds, said before England’s Super 8 match against Sri Lanka.“But what I would say is Pakistan have been a great cricket nation for many years. I think there’s about 50, 60 players in the auction, and it would be a shame to not see some of them in there.”A total of 67 male and female cricketers from Pakistan, including most of the men’s T20 World Cup squad, have registered for The Hundred auction, which will be held in London.Several Pakistan players — Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf — have previously played in The Hundred.Pakistan players have not been part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009, following diplomatic tensions after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Four of the eight The Hundred franchises — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds — are now partly owned by companies that control IPL teams.Former England captain Michael Vaughan said on Friday that the England and Wales Cricket Board “need to act fast” because excluding players based on nationality “should not be allowed to happen”.Pakistan players have also not featured in SA20, which began in 2023, with all six teams owned by IPL franchise groups — including the four now involved in The Hundred.In the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates, franchises linked to the owners of MI London and Southern Brave have not signed a Pakistan player across four seasons, though they have recruited players from 15 other countries. By contrast, Desert Vipers, which is American-owned, has signed eight Pakistan players over the same period.“There’s some amazing cricketers and, yeah, and they bring some great crowds as well. So it would be a shame to not see some of the Pakistan players in there and make the tournament and competition even better,” Brook added.The next season of The Hundred will run from July 21 to August 16, while the player auctions are scheduled for March 11 and 12.
