The Hundred: ‘Don’t discriminate against Pakistan players’

The England and Wales Cricket Board has issued an unequivocal warning to every Hundred franchise ahead of the 2026 player auction, instructing them not to shut the door on Pakistan talent.

In a letter sent to directors of cricket at all eight teams, the ECB stressed that any evidence of discrimination in recruitment will trigger disciplinary proceedings. The directive follows BBC revelations that a senior ECB official privately advised an agent Pakistan players would only draw interest from sides unconnected to the Indian Premier League.

That nexus is impossible to ignore: four of the eight Hundred outfits—Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds—are fully or partly controlled by companies that run IPL franchises. Across four completed seasons, not a single Pakistan player has appeared in the competition; the IPL itself has barred Pakistan cricketers since 2009 after the Mumbai attacks.

The pattern repeats in other leagues bankrolled by Indian investors. All six teams in South Africa’s SA20 are IPL-linked, while franchises in the International League T20 and Major League Cricket have also declined to sign Pakistan players.

With the ECB having sold its 49 per cent stake in each team last year, the governing body is now policing behaviour rather than controlling purse strings. Sixty-seven Pakistan players—63 men and four women—have entered the upcoming draft scheduled for 11-12 March. Among the marquee names at the £100,000 top reserve are Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz and fast bowler Naseem Shah.

Despite the ECB’s warning, a Pakistan agent told Telegraph Sport exclusion remains “a given” for teams with Indian ownership, suggesting the letter may do little to alter entrenched commercial calculations.