The player draft ahead of The Hundred 2025 took place yesterday (March 12). No Pakistan players were selected.
Five Pakistan players had registered for the women's draft, and 45 for the men's draft. With limited overseas slots as well as options on the women's side of things, it was not entirely shocking that Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Yusra Amir, Iram Javed and Jaweria Rauf were not picked up.
Read more: The Men's Hundred 2025 squads – who's in, who's out? Full list of teams after the draft
However, it was mildly surprising that not a single Pakistan player in the men's draft was picked, with many more in the pool and a few overseas slots available across the teams.
Is privatisation of The Hundred why Pakistan players weren't picked?
This season of The Hundred has seen a shift in the landscape, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) inviting outside investment into the franchises. All eight franchises have been invested in – four of them by IPL owners.
The IPL has had a fractious relationship with Pakistan's players. After the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, players from Pakistan have not been allowed to play in the league, although the likes of Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja have taken up coaching and commentary roles respectively over the years.
All six teams in South Africa's SA20, which kicked off in 2023, are co-owned by IPL franchises, and not a single Pakistan player has been part of a squad in the league so far.
With IPL investment coming into The Hundred, there had been fears that an official or unofficial ban could be imposed on Pakistan's players here as well, leading ECB chair Richard Gould to assert last month that the participation of Pakistan players would not be affected. Suggestions of a 'soft' ban have only intensified after the draft.
The Hundred has not had overly strong Pakistan representation in its four seasons thus far. Usama Mir has played the most – 13 matches in 2023 & 2024 for Manchester Originals. Haris Rauf (12 matches), Imad Wasim (10), Mohammad Amir (6), Shaheen Shah Afridi (6), Mohammad Hasnain (5), Zaman Khan (5), Shadab Khan (3), Wahab Riaz (2) are all the others to have played in the league.
Pakistan international schedule clashing with The Hundred 2025
Despite the worrying signs, the reason for Pakistan's players having no takers this time around is more simple. There are strong availability concerns for them during the tournament.
Dates are yet to be confirmed, but according to the ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2023-27, Pakistan are set to play a series of three ODIs and three T20Is in the West Indies from the last week of July to mid-August.
Immediately following that, a three-match T20I series has been pencilled in at home against Afghanistan before the Asia Cup starts in the second week of September. In addition, Pakistan are reportedly in talks with Bangladesh to organise a white-ball series for a window in July and August.
Also read: 'Only have 4-5 years left' – Desperate for comeback, Umar Akmal pleads for a meeting with PCB
This season of The Hundred is set to run from August 5 to August 31, overlapping almost entirely with these two series. Understandably, franchises are unwilling to pick players who are likely to drop out if they are selected for the national team.
The league has been burnt by player withdrawals before. Last season, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi pulled out, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family – before agreeing a deal to play in Canada's Global T20 which overlapped with The Hundred. As it happened, he was eventually denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by the PCB, to participate there.
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