No Pakistan Players For Indian-Owned 'The Hundred' Teams? England Great Not Happy
The Hundred is an eight-franchise tournament featuring teams such as Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has reacted to recent reports claiming that Indian Premier League (IPL)-backed teams in The Hundred will not sign players from Pakistan during next month's auction. The Hundred is an eight-franchise tournament featuring teams such as Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds. These franchises are now at least partially owned by entities that also control teams in the IPL. While the upcoming season is expected to see an increase in the salary cap due to this influx of private investment, reports suggest that Pakistani players are likely to miss out on these lucrative contracts.
Reacting to these developments, Vaughan urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which owns the league, to take a firm stand against any potential boycott of Pakistan players by IPL-backed teams. He emphasized that cricket is the most inclusive sport in the country and argued that the ECB should not allow such exclusions to take place.
It is worth noting that Pakistani players have been effectively barred from the IPL since 2009. A total of 11 players from Pakistan participated in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. Between 2012 and 2015, Azhar Mahmood was the sole exception, representing both Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) while playing under a British passport.
"The ECB need to act fast on this .. they own the league and this should not be allowed to happen .. the most inclusive sport in the country is not one that allows this to happen," Vaughan posted on X.
The upcoming season of The Hundred, scheduled from July 21 to August 16, 2026, will be the first of its kind. Moving away from the traditional draft system, the league will now follow an IPL-style auction model for player signings.
It is pertinent to note that no Pakistan cricketer has featured in South Africa's SA20 since its launch in 2023, as all six teams in that league are 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, despite signing talent from 15 other nations.
England Cricket Team