Vaughan calls for probe into reports Pakistan stars sidelined from Hundred

Michael Vaughan has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to “act fast” on reports that Pakistani players will be overlooked by Indian-owned teams in the domestic Hundred competition.

Longstanding political tensions between India and Pakistan have led to the border rivals only playing each other in international cricket events, although their recent Colombo showdown at the ongoing T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka only went ahead after Pakistan called off a threatened boycott.

It has been claimed that politics has also led to an effective ban on Pakistani players participating in the Indian Premier League, world cricket’s most lucrative T20 franchise competition.

And with several IPL owners now owning teams in several different countries, opportunities for Pakistani cricketers to participate in various leagues are in danger of being reduced further.

The BBC has now reported that the issue could be a factor during next month’s player auction for English cricket’s Hundred, a 100 balls-per-side competition featuring eight franchises rather than the traditional 18 first-class counties.

Players will go under the hammer in London on March 11-12, with the BBC reporting that the four Indian-affiliated Hundred teams — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds will deliberately avoid selecting players from Pakistan.

More than 50 Pakistani cricketers have registered their availability, with four other teams involved in the bidding.

The ECB have been unable to substantiate the BBC allegations, but former England captain Vaughan has called for the governing body to investigate the issue thoroughly.

Vaughan, referencing the ECB’s stated aim of cricket becoming the most inclusive sport in the country, posted on Friday on X: “The ECB need to act fast on this… they own the league and this should not be allowed to happen… the most inclusive sport in the country is not one that allows this to happen.”

An ECB spokesman said: “The Hundred welcomes men’s and women’s players from all over the world and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that.

“Almost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players respectively from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.”

Only two Pakistan internationals — Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim — – appeared in last year’s Hundred, the final edition before new investors became involved.