London
\nFormer England captain Michael Vaughan has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to \u201cact fast\u201d on reports that Pakistani players will be overlooked by Indian-owned teams in the domestic Hundred competition.
\nLongstanding political tensions between India and Pakistan have led to the border rivals only playing each other in international cricket events, although their recent Colombo showdown at the ongoing T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka only went ahead after Pakistan called off a threatened boycott.
\nIt has been claimed that politics has also led to an effective ban on Pakistani players participating in the Indian Premier League, world cricket\u2019s most lucrative T20 franchise competition.
\nAnd with several IPL owners now owning teams in several different countries, opportunities for Pakistani cricketers to participate in various leagues are in danger of being reduced further.
\nPlayers will go under the hammer in London on March 11-12, with the BBC reporting that the four Indian-affiliated Hundred teams \u2014 Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds will deliberately avoid selecting players from Pakistan.
\nMore than 50 Pakistani cricketers have registered their availability, with four other teams involved in the bidding.
\nThe ECB have been unable to substantiate the BBC allegations, but former England captain Vaughan has called for the governing body to investigate the issue thoroughly.
\nVaughan, referencing the ECB\u2019s stated aim of cricket becoming the most inclusive sport in the country, posted on Friday on X: \u201cThe ECB need to act fast on this… they own the league and this should not be allowed to happen… the most inclusive sport in the country is not one that allows this to happen.\u201d
\nAn ECB spokesperson said: \u201cThe Hundred welcomes men\u2019s and women\u2019s players from all over the world and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that.
\n\u201cAlmost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players respectively from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.\u201d
\nOnly two Pakistan internationals \u2014 Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim \u2014 appeared in last year\u2019s Hundred, the final edition before new investors became involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to \u201cact fast\u201d on reports that Pakistani players will be overlooked by Indian-owned teams in the domestic Hundred competition. Longstanding political tensions between India and Pakistan have led to the border rivals only playing each other in international cricket events, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-532457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n