England white-ball captain Harry Brook told The Hundred this year that it would be a “shame” if Pakistani players were overlooked.
BBC Earlier this week, it was reported that four Indian-owned teams – Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds – will not consider signing Pakistani players in the March auction.
Due to political tensions between India and Pakistan, no Pakistani players have featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and few players have played in other franchise leagues with Indian owners.
Ahead of England’s T20 World Cup Super 8 match against Sri Lanka on Sunday, Brooke, who plays for Sunrisers Leeds this summer but is not captain, said: “Pakistan has been a great cricketing nation for many years.
“I think there are about 50 or 60 flyers in the auction and it would be a shame not to see some of them. “There are some great cricketers out there and they draw huge crowds.
“It’s a shame that we can’t see some of the Pakistani players to make this tournament and competition better.”
67 Pakistani players (63 men and 4 women) participated in the March Hundred Auction.
ECB: The Hundred welcomes male and female players from all over the world.
BBC A senior ECB official said he had seen messages suggesting that only non-IPL affiliated franchises – Welsh Fire, London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets – would be welcome to buy cricketers from Pakistan.
But an ECB spokesman said: “The Hundred welcomes male and female players from all over the world and we expect the eight teams to reflect this.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged the ECB to take “quick action” and ensure The Hundred remains open to all.
He wrote on social media platform “The ECB must act quickly on this. They own the league and this should not be allowed to happen. The most inclusive sport in the country does not allow this to happen.”
67 Pakistani players (63 men, 4 women), including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf and Usman Tariq, have registered for the London auction, with the men’s match scheduled to be held on March 12, the day after the women’s match.
No Pakistani female player has featured in The Hundred in its first five seasons.
