Pakistan players overlooked? Only two Pakistan players finds spot as Indian-owned franchises shape the Hundred auction
Published - 12 Mar 2026, 10:48 PM | Updated - 12 Mar 2026, 11:34 PM
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The Hundred 2026 auction has finally concluded. It has been an exciting auction for the franchises. On Thursday, March 12, 2026, the Hundred (men's competition) held its first-ever player auction at Piccadilly Lights in central London. The cricket league, which began in 2021, employed a draft system to assign players to franchises for the first five editions.
There have been new investors in the league, with some of the owners from the Indian Premier League (IPL) owning some stakes at the Hundred auction. The impact is immediate, with three teams changing their previous names to IPL-style names.
The Hundred gets new owners
Oval Invincibles are now known as MI London, Manchester Originals have become Manchester Super Giants, and Northern Superchargers are now Sunrisers Leeds. Only the Southern Braves have not changed their names, as it is owned by the GMR Group, which also owns the Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
Once they acquired the stakes, there were reports of a ban on Pakistan players from the auction. However, it did not happen; there were atotal of 63 to 67 Pakistan players (including both men and women) registered for the 2026 The Hundred draft/auction. However, only a select group of 14 Pakistani players were shortlisted for the final bidding process in the men's auction.
Few Pakistan players were shortlisted
There was only one Pakistan player who withdrew from the auction was Pakistan ODI team captain Shaheen Shah Afridi. However, the other players who were registered were Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Zaman Khan, Usama Mir, Imad Wasim, Akif Javed, and Salman Mirza.
Among them, only two players were being sold in the auction. Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed are the two players to be sold at the auction. Tariq was the first player to be picked in the auction. He was picked by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000 during the auction.
Sunrisers Leeds shocks everyone after picking Abrar Ahmed
Abrar Ahmed was the second player to be picked in the auction by Sunrisers Leeds, for a price of £190,000, as it gained much attention, with the Sunrisers Leeds being a part of the SUN TV company, which also owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Except for the two players, Haris Rauf went unsold at the auction. Apart from them, no other players from Pakistan were even selected in the later part of the auction. James Coles became the highest-paid player at The Hundred. He was sold to the London Spirit for the upcoming season of The Hundred at a price tag of £390K.
List of Pakistan players who were sold and unsold at the Hundred Auction 2026
| Player | Status | Team | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abrar Ahmed | Sold | Birmingham Phoenix | £140,000 |
| Usman Tariq | Sold | Sunrisers Leeds | £190,000 |
| Haris Rauf | Unsold | — | — |
| Saim Ayub | Unsold | — | — |
| Mohammad Nawaz | Unsold | — | — |
| Naseem Shah | Unsold | — | — |
| Mohammad Amir | Unsold | — | — |
| Zaman Khan | Unsold | — | — |
| Usama Mir | Unsold | — | — |
| Imad Wasim | Unsold | — | — |
| Akif Javed | Unsold | — | — |
| Salman Mirza | Unsold | — | — |
Tagged:
Pakistan National Cricket Team The Hundred Sunrisers Leeds (Men) Southern Brave Birmingham Phoenix Manchester Super Giants (Men) Welsh Fire Trent Rockets London Spirit MI London (Men) Abrar Ahmed Usman Tariq Haris RaufAbout the Author
This author is a member of Cricketaddictor who writes news and analysis related to cricket.
