After skipper Harry Brook’s ‘shame’ comment and all-rounder Moeen Ali warning of a protest, England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) along with The Hundred franchises have released a joint statement on reports of Pakistan players facing snub from franchises that are owned by owners from IPL teams. ECB and The Hundred franchises have ensured that the players will be roped in on the basis of merit and there will be no unfair treatment of Pakistani players at the auction next month.
Here’s the full statement -
The England and Wales Cricket Board and all eight of The Hundred team franchises reaffirm their commitment to ensuring The Hundred continues to be a competition that is inclusive, welcoming and open to all.
The Hundred was established to reach new audiences, grow the game of cricket and ensure that everyone – regardless of their ethnicity, gender, faith, nationality or other – can feel they belong in our sport. This has been a guiding principle from the outset and remains at the heart of everything we do.
As the governing body responsible for running the tournament, the ECB is committed to ensuring there is no place for discrimination, and has regulations in place to take robust action to tackle any such conduct. Players must not be excluded on the grounds of their nationality.
All eight teams commit to selection being based solely on cricketing performance, availability, and the needs of each team.
This reflects the broader commitment of the ECB to make cricket the most inclusive sport, creating opportunities, breaking down barriers and ensuring that players from all backgrounds have a fair and equal pathway to the top of the game.
We want The Hundred to feature the very best talent from across the world, and will continue working proactively to ensure that the competition is a benchmark for inclusivity.
What did Moeen Ali say?
The four franchises owned by Indians are Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds. Moeen had said there will be protests from players from Pakistan heritage and others if these four franchises snub Pakistan players.
"In the UK, I'm not sure that can happen - and I hope it doesn't happen," Moeen told Telegraph Sport.
"It just shouldn't happen, hopefully it won't happen. We just have to wait and see if it does, but I think it'd be a massive shame, and I'm sure the ECB will definitely keep an eye out.
"There'll be a group of players that will speak up," he added. "There'll be things done about it. I think players should speak up. Anyone that has any sort of concern for these kind of things - it doesn't matter if they have Pakistani heritage - should speak up.
"Obviously, the news is very new. So I've not really had a chance to speak to anyone, but most of the players would be on the same page. It'd be really interesting to see what happens, because I genuinely think other countries can do what they want, obviously we're not in control of those things, but in the UK, we have a bit more say about these things."
Huge number of Pakistani players register for The Hundred auction
Meanwhile, the leading run-scorer of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan wishes to play in The Hundred. For the upcoming season 63 men and four women cricketers from Pakistan have registered for the auction. In the previous edition, there were two Pakistani players who played in the tournament — Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim.