England captain Harry Brook has claimed that it would be a shame if Pakistan players are reportedly snubbed from the upcoming Hundred edition this year. The latest report from the BBC suggested that the four IPL-owned teams playing in the Hundred may overlook purchasing Pakistan players during the auction for the 2026 season, which will take place between July 21 to August 16.
The new season of the Hundred is expected to see a notable increase in player pay after fresh private investment boosted the tournament’s finances. Four out of the eight teams — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds — now have partial ownership from companies that also run Indian Premier League franchises.
However, Pakistan players are not expected to reap the rewards. Franchises owned by IPL stakeholders have not signed Pakistani cricketers since 2009, a situation largely linked to ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan. Brook himself will be playing for Sunrisers Leeds, previously known as Northern Superchargers.
Speaking ahead of the press conference before England’s Super 8 clash against Sri Lanka, Brook said that Pakistan has been a great cricketing nation and their players can make the Hundred better with their quality and crowd-pulling ability.
“Our main focus now is what’s coming up in the T20 World Cup. It’s not really any of our business, to be honest, but 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 to not see some of them in there. There’s some amazing cricketers and, yeah, 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,” said Brook.
