Harry Brook has opened up about recent reports of Indian owners in the Hundred shadow-banning players from Pakistan.
As per reports from BBC and The Telegraph, the IPL-owned teams in the Hundred are planning not to sign Pakistan players at the upcoming auction. Four of the eight franchises in the competition, Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds, have IPL-based owners or co-owners.
Indian-owned franchises in other global T20 competitions have also refrained from signing Pakistan players, with no player from the country featuring in four seasons of SA20, where all six teams have IPL-based owners. Similar patterns have been observed in the International League T20 and Major League Cricket.
Brook was asked to comment on the reports ahead of England’s first Super Eights game of the T20 World Cup 2026 against Sri Lanka. The England captain admitted that it would be unfortunate to see some of the Pakistani players going unsold just because of their nationality.
Brook: Pakistan have been a great cricket nation for many years
“Our main focus is now what’s coming up in the T20 World Cup,” he said. “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 not to see some of them in there. There’s some amazing cricketers and yeah, 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.”
If India can play Pakistan, Indian franchise owners can pick Pakistan players: Michael Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also came down hard on the speculation and urged the ECB to ensure no such discrimination takes place at the Hundred auction, scheduled for March 11 and 12. He also wondered if India could play Pakistan at neutral venues, it made little sense for IPL-based franchises not to sign Pakistani players in foreign leagues.
“If no Pakistan players are signed by the Indian-owned franchises, then we have our answer,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph. “I would then like to hear a proper explanation from a senior ECB figure. We need to know if the owners indicated to the ECB they would not consider Pakistan players. Fundamentally, if India can play Pakistan in a World Cup match, then surely Indian owners can pick Pakistan players in a foreign league. I can understand it is too sensitive in the IPL, but this has exported the problem to other countries.”
A total of 67 Pakistan players have registered for the upcoming auction, including four women’s players, headlined by the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, fresh off a record-breaking T20I series against South Africa, has also registered.
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