The Hundred auction is all set to be the center of attention next week, with Pakistan quick bowler Haris Rauf included in the 10 marquee players for the men’s tournament. As a whole, 14 Pakistan cricketers have made it into the cut-short longlist for the much-talked-about tournament.
14 Pakistan Players Shortlisted for the Hundred Auction
Out of 710 registered players, 243 have made it to the final men’s longlist, which includes 14 players from Pakistan. The selected players include:
Haris Rauf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Shadab Khan
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Usman Tariq
Saim Ayub
Abrar Ahmed
Mohammad Nawaz
Naseem Shah
Mohammad Amir
Zaman Khan
Usama Mir
Imad Wasim
Akif Javed
Salman Mirza
Initially, 63 Pakistan players were included in the extended list, which has now been reduced to 75-100 players by the franchises.
Marquee Players Headlining The Men’s Hundred Auction
The Hundred auction will begin with 10 marquee players, including home and international players.
Domestic Marquee Players
Jonny Bairstow
Adil Rashid
James Vince
Jordan Cox
Joe Root
Overseas Marquee Players
Aiden Markram
David Miller
Sunil Narine
Daryl Mitchell
Haris Rauf
Rauf, who has previously played for Welsh Fire, has taken 16 wickets in two seasons and recently finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Big Bash League.
Controversy Surrounding Pakistani Players and IPL-Linked Teams
The run-up to the Hundred auction has not been without controversy. According to a BBC report, a “shadow ban” on Pakistani players could be implemented by the four teams that are partially or fully owned by Indian Premier League teams.
This was refuted by a joint statement from the ECB and all eight franchises, which said:
Performance
Availability
Team requirements
Three of the eight franchises have been renamed because of the owners’ connections to the Indian Premier League:
Oval Invincibles (now MI London)
Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds)
Manchester Originals (now Manchester Super Giants)
Southern Brave also have Indian owners.
Tournament Schedule and Player Availability
The Hundred tournament for the 2026 season will take place from July 21 to August 16. Pakistan’s scheduled Test tour of the West Indies is set to clash with the tournament window, although white-ball players are likely to be available, subject to the grant of No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the PCB.
Interestingly, England captain Ben Stokes has not entered his name for the auction, opting to focus on England’s upcoming Test series in Pakistan instead.
Women’s Hundred Auction: Pakistan Representation
In the women’s section, two Pakistani players are included on the longlist: Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal. No Pakistani players feature in the first five editions of the women’s Hundred format.
Women’s Marquee Players
Dani Gibson
Sarah Glenn
Amy Jones
Tammy Beaumont
Davina Perrin
Nadine de Klerk
Sophie Devine
Beth Mooney
Sophie Molineux
Deepti Sharma
Key Talking Points Ahead of the Hundred Auction
- Haris Rauf is the face of Pakistan’s participation as a foreign star player.
- 14 Pakistani players are still in the race after the long list was cut short.
- Franchises from the IPL face an inquiry regarding the “shadow ban” claims.
- The tournament coincides with the West Indies tour of Pakistan.
- Auctions to take place on March 11th (women’s) and March 12th (men’s) in London.
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