Pakistan’s top-ranked T20I batter Babar Azam went unsold as The Hundred draft took place behind closed doors.
Babar Azam was listed at the highest price allowed of £125,000.
There was reluctance from the franchises to pick international players as the competition’s month-long window from August 3 to September 3 clashes with several men’s bilateral series, the Asia Cup, and the start of the Caribbean Premier League.
Mohammad Amir was another marquee name missing from the selected players as the former Pakistani pacer failed in his bid to find suitors.
Naseem Shah and Wahab Riaz will represent the Pakistani contingent at this year’s competition.
Naseem was picked by Welsh Fire for the price of £60,000 where he will be captained by Johnny Bairstow. His participation in the competition is subject to his selection for Pakistan’s national team.
Wahab found his name called by Northern Superchargers for the price of £75,000. One of the most experienced campaigners of the white-ball game, David Willey -his captain- will count on his ample knowledge to deliver them a championship.
Pakistani players were not the only names omitted from The Hundred draft as superstars like David Warner, Lockie Ferguson, Nicholas Pooran, Aaron finch, and Chris Gayle were among those unsold due to uncertainty over their availability.
The Hundred is an innovative competition introduced by the ECB in wake of T20’s growing popularity.
Each innings in this tournament consists of 100 balls with overs consisting of 5 or 10 balls.
The competition is headed for its second season with Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles defending their men’s and women’s titles respectively.
