Cricket

Pakistan Stars Register for The Hundred 2026 Auction Despite Indian-Owned Franchise Concerns

by iGK

Modified: February 20, 2026 3:27 PM

In a significant development, nearly all members of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad including captain Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Saim Ayub, and Usman Tariq—have registered for The Hundred 2026 auction, scheduled for March 11-12 in London.

The auction list features 711 players from across the cricketing world, with the notable exception of Indian players. However, widespread reports in the English media suggest that six of the eight franchises, which have Indian connections, may refrain from bidding on Pakistani players due to diplomatic sensitivities between India and Pakistan.

The franchises with Indian links include London Spirit (US-based tech investors), MI Oval (Reliance Industries), Manchester SuperGiants (RPSG Group), Southern Brave (GMR Group), SunRisers Leeds (Sun TV), and Welsh Fire (US-based Sanjay Govil). Four of these have direct IPL ownership Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow SuperGiants, and SunRisers Hyderabad and have historically avoided signing Pakistani players in overseas leagues like SA20 and ILT20.

The BBC reported, citing sources, that “Pakistan cricketers are not being considered by Indian-owned sides for next month’s Hundred auction.” However, some franchises remained non-committal, stating their priority is assembling the strongest possible squads.

Player	Base Price (GBP)	Approx. INR
Shaheen Afridi, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah	£100,000	₹1.05 Crore
Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Muhammad Amir, Zaman Khan, Usman Tariq	£75,000	₹79 Lakhs
Faheem Ashraf, Sahibzada Farhan, Usama Mir, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Afaq Afridi, Asif Afridi	£50,000	₹52.5 Lakhs

Auction Rules & Salary Cap-

Men’s squads: 16-18 players per team
Salary pot: £2.05 million per team (approx. ₹21.5 Crore)
Women’s squads: 15 players per team; salary pot increased to £880,000 (approx. ₹9.2 Crore)
Pre-auction signings: Teams allowed up to 4 signings before auction, with deductions from salary cap

The upcoming auction will reveal whether Pakistan’s top talent finds buyers in The Hundred, or if geopolitical considerations overshadow cricketing merit.