The Hundred 2026: England’s T20 league The Hundred 2026 will start from 21st July and will be played till 16th August. Before this, there will be an auction of players on 11th and 12th March. This auction is going to be very special this time, Indian groups associated with IPL are also now a part of this league. But before the auction, there is a big uproar regarding Pakistani players, on which now England captain Harry Brook has also given a big statement.
Uproar over Pakistani players in The Hundred
There are four franchises of The Hundred which are partially or completely owned by Indian groups associated with IPL, they can avoid selecting Pakistani players in the auction. These 4 teams are Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds. The reason for this is believed to be the ongoing political tension between India and Pakistan. For this reason, no Pakistani player has been able to play in the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Similarly, in leagues like SA20 and ILT20, Indian-owned teams have not taken Pakistani players.
A total of 67 players (63 men and 4 women) from Pakistan have registered for the auction of The Hundred, which includes many big names like Mohammad Aamir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf, who have played in this tournament before. In such a situation, these players are finding it difficult to find buyers.
Harry Brook’s big statement
On this issue, England’s T20 and ODI captain Harry Brook has said that it would be a matter of great regret if Pakistani cricketers were kept out of The Hundred tournament. He said this in the press conference on Saturday before the match against Sri Lanka in the Super 8 stage of T20 World Cup 2026. Harry Brook said, ‘Our focus right now is on what is going to happen in the T20 World Cup. To be honest, it’s not really our job.
He further said, ‘But I will say that Pakistan has been a great cricket nation for many years. I think there are around 50-60 Pakistani players in the auction, and it would be a shame not to see some of them there. There are some brilliant cricketers there and yes, and they bring some good crowds too.