LONDON: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were not chosen by any of the teams at the Hundred draft that saw PSL 8 sensation Ihansullah picked by Oval Invincibles to spearhead its pace attack in the 2023 season.
On Thursdays, teams completed their squads for the upcoming third edition of the Hundred – England’s first-of-its-sort league – after a breathless day of drafting.
A total of four players from Pakistan, including newly found pace sensation and Player of the Pakistan Super League season 8, Ihasanullah, were picked by three teams at the draft.
Pakistan fast bowler and two-time PSL-winning captain Shaheen Afridi was picked by the Welsh Fire to lead their attempted revival in the upcoming season after going in the £100,000 category at the player draft.
Similarly, Shadab Khan also went for £100,000, picked by Birmingham Phoenix in round two.
Afridi’s compatriot and right-arm fast bowler Haris Rauf was also chosen by the Fire in the later rounds as they aimed to drastically improve their arsenal after a winless 2022 season.
On the other hand, Ihsanullah, who impressed everyone with his extra pace and deadly bouncers during the recently-concluded PSL, was picked by Oval Invincibles in the £40,000 category.
Surprisingly, none of the teams showed their interest in picking Pakistan batters, including the Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam and second-ranked T20I batter Mohammad Rizwan due to concerns over their availability.
It was not just Pakistan batters but a host of other top-performing T20 players went unsold due to various reasons which included Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan, West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard and Australian duo Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa, New Zealand seamer Trent Boult, and West Indies all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell to name a few.
It may be noted here that a total of 64 spots were filled across both men’s and women’s competitions at the Hundred draft.
16 spots are still available in the men’s competition which will be selected by virtue of The Vitality Wildcard Draft, scheduled to take place in the week commencing 3 July.
The eight-team tournament will kick off at Trent Bridge on August 1 with a double-header between Trent Rockets and Southern Brave – the first of 68 games across the third year of The Hundred.
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