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After leading the Lahore Qalandars to victory in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 season, star pacer Shaheen Afridi broke the bank in The Hundred's draft, going in the Rs 1 crore (£100,000) category. He will join the Welsh Fire, who will hope to come back stronger after finishing at the bottom of the table after losing all eight of their matches in 2022.
He will be joined by Tom Abell and another Rs 1.25 Crore (£125,000) category selection in England all-rounder David Willey.
Haris Rauf was also chosen by Fire, while another pacer who shone in the recently-concluded PSL in Ihsanullah, was signed by the Oval Invincibles.
However, a number of their Pakistani teammates remained unsigned, including their national team skipper Babar Azam. Mohammad Rizwan, West Indies' all-rounder pair of Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, and New Zealand pacer Trent Boult failed to make it out of the Rs 1 crore (£100,000) category. From the Rs. 1.25 Crore (£125,000) category, Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan, West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard and Australian duo Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa were not chosen.
England batter Ben Duckett moved from Birmingham Phoenix from the Fire during the fourth round pick, with the Cardiff franchise selecting his international team-mate Willey with the final pick of the first round. "[Phoenix] seem to have a great team playing against them, some explosive batters - I'll try and play anchor and get them on strike," he said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore ((RCB) pacer Reece Topley will be moving to the Northern Superchargers, and his England compatriot and fellow fast bowler Olly Stone will make his Hundred bows in 2023 after being picked up by the London Spirit.
Among the Indian women's team, only two players will fly to England for the Hundred — Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana. The national team skipper has plied her trade for the Manchester Originals but this time, she will turn out for the Trent Rockets. Meanwhile, Mandhana has been with the Southern Brave since the inaugural edition and has stayed with them.
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