A big controversy has arisen after the auction for the new season of The Hundred held in England. World number-1 T20 bowler Sadia Iqbal did not find any buyer in the auction of women players held on Wednesday. Along with him, Pakistan all-rounder Fatima Sana also remained unsold.

The base price of both players was 15,000 pounds, but no franchise bid on them. After this, the discussion intensified on social media and in the cricket world whether an untold distance is being created regarding Pakistani players in the league.

Questions raised after the arrival of IPL owners

This time, the stake of companies which also have IPL franchises has increased in many teams of The Hundred. For this reason, some people raised the question whether Pakistani players have not got a chance due to the influence of the owners associated with IPL.

However, the league organizer England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had clearly said before the auction that the players will not be selected on the basis of their nationality. Despite this, after the results came out, debate on this issue has started.

Pakistani women players had not played before either

The interesting thing is that even in the previous seasons of The Hundred League, no Pakistani female player could play in this league. This means that even before the arrival of IPL owners, women cricketers of Pakistan did not get a chance in this league. Still, many people found it surprising that a top bowler like Sadia Iqbal remained unsold, because at present she is considered the number-1 bowler in the T20 rankings.

Money rained on Indian players

While Pakistani players were disappointed, Indian women cricketers got excellent prices in the auction.

Richa Ghosh – Bought for 50,000 pounds.

Deepti Sharma – 27,000 pounds

Whereas veteran players like Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues had already been pre-signed or retained by the franchise. This season, there has been an increase in the salary of women players as compared to last year.

Now keep an eye on the men’s auction

After the women’s auction, now everyone’s eyes are on the auction of male players. Many big players of Pakistan are included in this draft, including names of players like Shahin Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Aamir Aamir.

Now it will be interesting to see whether teams place bets on these Pakistani players in the men’s auction or they too get disappointed like the women players.

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The Hundred auction: The long list of players for the upcoming season of England’s famous T20 league The Hundred has been released. This time 247 players have been included in the auction, out of which the entry of 14 cricketers from Pakistan has created a special discussion. Now the biggest question is whether Indian-owned franchises will bid on these players or not.

Haris Rauf is the biggest name in the marquee category.

Pakistan’s fast bowler Haris Rauf has been placed in the ‘Marquee Players International’ category, where his base price has been fixed at 1 lakh pounds. This high-profile group also includes big players like Aiden Markram, David Miller, Daryl Mitchell and Sunil Narine.

Six cricketers from Pakistan have been successful in making it to the list of top-50 players. These include names like Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Tariq, Sam Ayub and Abrar Ahmed. The interesting thing is that the number of players from Pakistan in this list is more than players from any other foreign country.

Debate increased due to news of ‘shadow ban’

Recent reports had claimed that some teams with owners associated with the Indian Premier League may avoid signing Pakistani players. Among these, the names of franchises like MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, Manchester Super Giants and Southern Brave have come to the fore.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board has made it clear that no player will be excluded from the auction on the basis of his nationality. The board said that the selection will be based only on performance, availability and the needs of the team.

Did not get any contract last year

This was the first time in the 2025 draft that no Pakistani player got a contract. Earlier, many Pakistani players were part of this league in the 2024 and 2023 seasons. However, this time the situation is a little different because the timing of the tournament may clash with Pakistan’s Test series, which may affect the availability of some players.

Now everyone’s eyes are on the auction. It will be interesting to see whether Pakistani players will get a chance in The Hundred this time or not.

Photo Tag – 14 Pakistan Players in The Hundred 2026 Auction