Why did all 50 Pakistan cricketers go unsold in The Hundred 2025 Draft? Reason REVEALED!

All 50 Pakistani cricketers, who were registered in The Hundred 2025 Draft, did not attract any bidders, sparking debate and speculation over the outcome.

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In the recently concluded The Hundred 2025 Draft for men’s and women’s competitions, all 50 Pakistan cricketers did not find any keen interest from the participating teams, raising eyebrows across the cricket fraternity. The development sparked discussions and speculations about the potential factors that might have contributed to this outcome. All 50 Pakistani cricketers not attracting any bidders in The Hundred Draft became a huge topic of debate. 

A total of 348 overseas players were registered for The Hundred 2025 Draft for the men’s competition, out of which 45 were Pakistani cricketers. For women’s competition, 110 overseas players registered for the draft and five were Pakistani women cricketers. The teams including Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Oval Invincibles, and North Superchargers, Trent Rockets, Southern Brave, and Welsh Fire participated in the Draft. 

However, none of The Hundred franchises for men’s and women’s competitions showed their keen interest in signing the Pakistani cricketers, leaving them unsold. This unexpected snub has led to widespread speculation.

The prominent names among the Pakistani contingent were Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub and Shadab Khan, placed in the top brackets of The Hundred 2025 Draft. Naseen and Shadab were listed at a top bracket of £120,000 (INR 1 crore approximately), while Ayub was registered himself for £78,500 (INR 90 lakh approximately). In the women’s category, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Yusra Amir, Iram Javed and Jaweria Rauf were among the Pakistani cricketers who were not picked by The Hundred franchises. With Pakistani players going unsold at ECB-run The Hundred Draft, questions were raised about the possible reasons behind their exclusion.

One of the potential reasons for Pakistani players not getting picked by The Hundred franchises in the Draft is the influence of the Indian Premier League. Ahead of The Hundred 2025 Draft, the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to invite outside investment into the franchises. With this, four IPL owners took stakes in their respective The Hundred franchises in order to gain a stronger foothold in English cricket.

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Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad acquired stakes in Oval Invincibles, Manchester Originals, Southern Braver, and Northern Superchargers, respectively. Moreover, USA-based entrepreneur of Indian origin Sanjay Govil acquired a 50% stake in Welsh fire. With four IPL owners acquiring the stakes in The Hundred franchises, there is a speculation that their influence might have played a role in getting Pakistani excluded from signing the contract with one of the franchises at the draft, given the longstanding political and historical tensions between India and Pakistan over last seven decades since the independence of two neighbouring countries.

The IPL has had a strained relationship with Pakistani players. After the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, none of the players were allowed to participate in the auction nor take part in the tournament. Going unsold at The Hundred Draft is not the first instance for Pakistan players. Pakistan cricketers are yet to take place in SA20 league as all five teams, including MI Cape Town, Joburg Super Kings, Durban Super Giants, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, Sunrisers Eastern Cape are owned by IPL franchises.

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Another potential reason behind no takers for Pakistani cricketers is The Hundred 2025 edition is clashing with international series. From the last week of July till mid-August, Pakistan are set to play a white-ball series, including three ODIs and as many T20Is in West Indies. Thereafter, the Men in Blue will play a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan at home in August before the Asia Cup T20 begins in September. The upcoming season of The Hundred is overlapping between two series of Pakistan as the tournament will begin from August 5 to 31. Therefore, the franchises might have a concern over Pakistan players availability for the tournament.