Pakistan’s T20I captain among 50 players to go unsold in The Hundred draft – Is IPL connection to blame? Explained

Pakistani players have received a major snub, this time in England's domestic T20 league, The Hundred, where all 50 players who put their names in the draft process remained unsold. The players who remained unsold included 45 male cricketers and 5 female cricketers.

Some of the key names that remained unsold in the draft process include Pakistan's T20I captain Salman Agha, pacers Naseem Shah and Hassan Sali and spinners Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan.

This will be the first season of The Hundred after the equity sale of franchises' in England's marquee T20 league where four of the franchises are now partially or majority owned by IPL franchises.

Notably, Indian franchises owning teams in other parts of the world like South Africa, UAE and the US have rarely picked any Pakistan players and there were already concerns that it might turn out to be the case in The Hundred.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould had earlier assured that the influence of IPL franchises in The Hundred will not restrict the participation of Pakistan players.

Notably, Pakistan players participated in the first season of IPL in 2008 but after the 2009 terror attacks no player from the country was allowed to participate in the world's most popular T20 league.

Why Indian franchises may not have a role to play here?

While it is easy to assume that the Men in Green have been artificially restricted from playing in the Hundred due to the deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan, this is not necessarily the case.

Notably, Pakistan have two bilateral series in August that clash with the schedule of the Hundred, putting the availability of many key players in doubt. With the Pakistan team in transition, The Hundred franchises could not be sure of the availability of these players, which was a major factor in the decision making process.