Pakistanis likely to miss out on The Hundred due to IPL-linked franchises

Pakistan cricketers are likely to miss out on The Hundred, an IPL-style franchise league held in the United Kingdom. The reason, according to the BBC, is that half of the eight franchises in The Hundred are at least co-owned by IPL teams.

According to a BBC report, among the IPL-linked franchises that also participate in leagues in South Africa and the UAE, it is 'an unwritten rule' not to pick Pakistani players from auctions. The sixth season of The Hundred is scheduled to be played between July 21 and August 16, and the auction is set to take place next month.

The diplomatic tension between India and Pakistan has been quite intense in recent years with both countries refusing to play on each other’s soils. India and Pakistan only play on neutral grounds in ICC tournaments. Pakistani cricketers are no longer part of the IPL.

The four franchises in The Hundred with IPL connections are Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds. Last season, Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim was part of Northern Superchargers, which has been rechristened Sunrisers Leeds.

England's limited-overs cricket captain Harry Brook, who has joined the Leeds squad, said it would be a shame if Pakistan players missed out. "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," Harry Brook said.

"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 not to see some of them in there,” Brook added.

Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf are some of the popular Pakistani players who have featured in The Hundred. ECB chief executive Richard Gould has said that The Hundred has 'clear anti-discrimination policies' and that he expects "players from all nations to be selected for all teams".