The Hundred: Will geopolitics keep ECB on their toes ahead of auction?  

It was years back during the auction for 2009 IPL that a clutch of Pakistan’s top cricketers were taken aback when none of the then attracted a bid from the then eight franchises. There was no official directive as players like Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik and the first edition’s Purple Cap winner Sohail Tanvir were among the registered pool, but the franchise representatives kept conspicuously quiet when their names went under the hammer.

It was a no-brainer that the 26th November terror attack in Mumbai in 2008 had played it’s part and ever since then, no Pakistan passportholders played in IPL – with the odd exception of Azhar Mahmood as he was a British citizen. One could see an encore of it in the first-ever auction of The Hundred in London on 11-12 March as a media report says that the four franchises with Indian investment may refrain from bidding for them.  

A BBC report says as many as 67 Pakistan players, four of them women, have enrolled themselves for the auction with no objection certificate from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The likes of white ball captain Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf are among more than 950 players to have registered for The Hundred's draft. The buzz is that the four teams with Indian ownership: Mumbai Indians (MI London), Lucknow Super Giants (Manchester Super Giants), Sunrisers Hyderabad (Sunrisers Leeds) and Delhi Capitals (Southern Brave) will keep them out of bounds after the shadows of geopolitics squeezed the life of the ongoing T20 World Cup.

This will leave the other four teams: Welsh Fire, London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets going for the Pakistan players – but it’s a problem which will see the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) having their hands full. The Pakistan diaspora, unlike in India, comprises nearly 50% of the cricket fans who have historically enjoyed the India-Pakistan rivalry from the stands in England. A demographical divide, if any, between four teams with and four without Pakistan players will not be a good advertisement for The Hundred which is still struggling to be a commercially viable product.

 The ripples of the possible ‘unwritten’ ban on Pakistan players were felt in Pallekele in Sri Lanka – and it was refreshing to see England captain not pulling back any punches. Speaking ahead of their T20 World Cup Super 8 game against Sri Lanka on Sunday, Brook - who will play for Sunrisers Leeds (owned by the Marans) said: ‘’It would be a shame to not see some of the Pakistan players in there and make this tournament and competition even better.

‘’Pakistan have been a great cricket nation for many years. I think there’s about 50 or 60 players in the auction and it would be a shame to not see some of them in there. There’s some amazing cricketers and they bring some great crowds as well,’’ Brook said.

Weighing in on it, former England captain Michael Vaughan urged the ECB to act fast and ensure The Hundred remains open to all. He wrote on social media platform X: ‘’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.’’

If the entry of IPL ownership in The Hundred was seen as a welcome move for the ECB to generate a revenue model out of it, it was also seen as platform for the IPL franchises to increase their global footprint. The BCCI, however, continues to be possessive in allowing their marquee men’s players to play in overseas leagues but have cleared as many as 17 players – including Women’s World Cup winners like Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh.

Richard Gould, chief executive of the ECB has previously emphasized the ECB's commitment to inclusiveness and in previous statements, he has expressed confidence and support for the selection of players from all countries. While common sense dictates that the IPL ownership-backed franchises see the bigger picture for The Hundred as it’s an overseas product, but can they afford to play ball ?

We will know soon!