Haris Rauf has been designated a marquee player as six Pakistan internationals made the top 50 “hero” list for this year’s men’s Hundred auction.
Fourteen Pakistan men’s players in all are included in the longlist of 247, despite reports their players would not be considered by the four Indian-owned franchises amid geopolitical tensions between the two countries. This year’s Hundred also clashes with a Pakistan Test series.
Rauf joins South Africa pair Aiden Markram and David Miller, New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell and West Indies spinner Sunil Narine in the group labelled “Marquee Players International”, and carries the maximum reserve price of £100,000.
Players were required to submit themselves for entry into the auction, with the eight franchises each submitting a list of 75-100 player nominations from which the longlist was decided.
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England captain Harry Brook says it would be ‘a shame’ if Pakistan players were excluded from playing in The Hundred this year.
The top 50 “hero” players were broken down into categories, with Pakistan paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi, all-rounder Shadab Khan and spinner Usman Tariq each listed in tier one while all-rounder Saim Ayub and spinner Abrar Ahmed feature in tier two. Ayub nonetheless opted for the top reserve price.
Pakistan actually has the most representatives of any overseas nation among the top 50, one ahead of South Africa.
Sahibzada Farhan, the runaway leading run scorer at the ongoing T20 World Cup, is a notable absentee with the contingent of 14 Pakistan players completed by all-rounders Muhammad Nawaz, Usama Mir and Imad Wasim and pace bowlers Muhammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Zaman Khan, Akif Javed and Salman Mirza.
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There were no handshakes during the toss between captains Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha ahead of the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match.
The four Indian-owned franchises are MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, Manchester Super Giants and Southern Brave.
A total of 63 men and four women from Pakistan applied for inclusion in the respective auctions, with spinner Sadia Iqbal and all-rounder Fatima Sana making the women’s longlist at reserve prices of £15,000 apiece.
The top reserve of £50,000 in the women’s auction is shared by England internationals Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn and Amy Jones and marquee international players Nadine De Klerk, Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney.
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