Harry Brook responds to bombshell Hundred report, boycott on Pakistan players at Auction, Michael Vaughan
England captain Harry Brook has commented on reports that four franchises will boycott Pakistan players at the upcoming Hundred Auction, while Ashes icon Michael Vaughan warned it could “make a mockery” of the competition.
Last week, BBC Sport published a damning report that claimed the Hundred competition’s four India-owned franchises will not consider picking Pakistan players at next month’s auction.
According to the report, the Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds — which as of recently are part or fully-owned by companies that control IPL teams — are planning not to sign any Pakistani players amid diplomatic tensions between the rival nations.
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A total of 67 Pakistan cricketers have registered for the upcoming Hundred auction, headlined by the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.
Pakistani cricketers have not featured in the IPL since 2009, while Indian-owned franchises in other domestic leagues have enforced a de-facto ban on players from the South Asian nation.
No Pakistan players have appeared in South Africa’s SA20, where all six teams are owned by IPL franchise groups, while Indian-owned clubs in the United Arab Emirates’ ILT20 and the United States’ Major League Cricket have also avoided signing Pakistani cricketers.
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In a column for The Telegraph, former England captain Vaughan claimed that if the reports were accurate, it would “make a mockery of the stated aim of Richard Thompson, the ECB chairman, to make English cricket the most inclusive sport in the country”.
“If no Pakistan players are signed by the Indian-owned franchises, then we have our answer,” Vaughan wrote.
“I would then like to hear a proper explanation from a senior ECB figure. We need to know if the owners indicated to the ECB they would not consider Pakistan players. Fundamentally, if India can play Pakistan in a World Cup match, then surely Indian owners can pick Pakistan players in a foreign league. I can understand it is too sensitive in the IPL, but this has exported the problem to other countries.”
In response to the report, the England and Wales Cricket Board has reportedly written to each of the Hundred franchises, warning that action would be taken if there was evidence of ignoring players based on nationality during the auction.
Brook was asked about the report ahead of Sunday’s T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Kandy.
“Our main focus is now what’s coming up in the T20 World Cup, it’s not really any of our business, to be honest,” he replied.
“What I would say is Pakistan have been a great cricket nation for many years. I think there’s about 50, 60 players in the auction, and it would be a shame not to see some of them in there. There’s some amazing cricketers and they bring some great crowds as well. So it would be a shame to not see some of the Pakistan players in there and make the tournament and competition even better.”
England, having won the Super Eights contest by 51 runs, will next face New Zealand in Colombo on Friday.
