Are Indian team owners behind the absence of Pakistani cricketers from The Hundred?

Is there a pattern when it comes to IPL owners and Pakistani players?

Pakistani players were part of the inaugural edition of the IPL that began in April 2008. But after the Mumbai terror attacks later that year, the BCCI put a ban on the participation of Pakistani players.

Allrounder Azhar Mahmood played in the 2012 edition by virtue of his English passport, but since then, no Pakistani player has featured in the IPL.

As IPL owners have spread their footprint in T20 leagues around the world, this practice has continued.

In SA20, the T20 franchise tournament in South Africa, in which all six teams are owned by IPL teams, there is not a single Pakistani player.

In the ILT20 (UAE) and MLC (USA) there have been just four Pakistani players in the franchises that are owned by IPL teams.

In the Caribbean Premier League, there have been only four Pakistani players in franchises operated by IPL owners.

And what is happening with The Hundred?

In The Hundred, the county clubs still retain their share of stakes. More importantly, it is the players from Pakistan who have added glitz to the tournament which has failed to attract many eyeballs.

Also, it is understood that before the draft, there was no informal discussion among the teams regarding the participation of Pakistan players. Several county teams recruit players from Pakistan for the English season, and having such a ban for The Hundred would not sit well with the teams.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould specifically said the IPL link would not stop Pakistani players from featuring in The Hundred. “We’re aware of that in other regions,” Gould said of the playing restrictions encountered by Pakistan players. “But that won’t be happening here,” he said.

So what is the reason for the absence of the Pakistanis?

A couple of IPL franchises that are involved with The Hundred pointed to cricketing reasons such as recent performance and scheduling issues.

1. 01

   PERFORMANCE

   Pakistan has had a dismal run in the last three ICC events, with not a single player having a standout tournament. When T20 leagues mushroomed across the globe, the Pakistanis, along with players from the Caribbean, were the hottest property. But Pakistan’s struggles in white-ball cricket are being reflected in the franchise circuit as well.

   While fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah have been featuring in other T20 leagues, they haven’t been effective of late. Even among the batsmen, there has been no Pakistani player who would be of interest to any franchise.

2. 02

   SCHEDULING

   Franchises point out that Pakistan players have international commitments in August, which clashes directly with The Hundred. Pakistan are set to play West Indies and Afghanistan in white-ball tournaments that month, before the Asia Cup (T20) in September. Also, with the team in a rebuilding phase ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, all frontline players are expected to be part of the national team.

What role has the Pakistan Cricket Board played in this situation?

The first box to tick is availability. Franchises have of late been at the receiving end of Pakistani players pulling out at the last minute following the rejection of their NOCs (no-objection certificates) by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

While the Australian, New Zealand, English and South African boards have been flexible in providing NOCs to keep players from drifting away, the PCB has taken a hard line at times. This is despite a clause in the central contract that says players are allowed to play two franchise leagues other than the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Last year the PCB revoked the NOC issued to Naseem Shah to feature in The Hundred at the eleventh hour. Subsequently, it did not issue NOCs to Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, and Muhammad Rizwan to feature in the Global T20 Canada.

On both occasions, the PCB cited workload management as the main reason. But even leg-spinner Usma Mir, who was not a part of the national set-up and no domestic cricket commitments, was stopped from playing in the T20 Blast in England and Wales as it would have meant more than two T20 tournaments.

In 2023, the PCB had delayed issuing the NOC to Haris Rauf to feature in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.

The players have protested by delaying signing the central contracts. In 2019, a few of them threatened to go on a strike.

A reason many attribute to Pakistan’s poor performance in ICC tournaments is the lack of exposure to modern-day cricket that the franchise circuit provides. Last year, fast bowler Mohammad Amir and allrounder Imad Wasim announced their retirement from international cricket to pursue T20 leagues. More players could follow.