ECB confirms stance on PAK players' involvement in The Hundred after IPL franchises' fresh investments: 'We're aware...'
Will players from Pakistan turn up for ‘The Hundred’ after investment from IPL franchises? The ECB makes its stance clear.
Players from Pakistan will continue playing in the England and Wales Cricket Board's flagship tournament, The Hundred, despite investment from Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises. The ECB has made it clear that players such as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Babar Azam are likely to be involved in the tournament, and the involvement of IPL owners will be of no hindrance.
The ECB recently entered into exclusivity agreements with eight partners as private investment was secured in each of the Hundred's teams. RPSG Group (owners of Lucknow Super Giants), Sun TV Network Limited (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Reliance Industries Limited (Mumbai Indians) and GMR Group (co-owners of Delhi Capitals) made successful bids for Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave, respectively.
It must be mentioned that no player representing Pakistan has participated in the IPL since the inaugural season in 2008. Pakistan had no representative in the first three seasons of SA20, where IPL franchises own all teams.
"We're aware of that in other regions," ECB chief executive Richard Gould said of the playing restrictions encountered by cricketers from Pakistan, "but that won't be happening here."
Pakistani players have been very little involved in the teams owned by IPL franchises in the ILT20 and Major League Cricket (MLC).
'No Indian player in The Hundred'
The ECB also does not expect Indian players to be available in The Hundred as BCCI's policy is well known to every other cricket board.
"In terms of availability to Indian players, that is not priced in with our plans. The BCCI's position has been very clear. At some point, we'd love to see Indian players come and play in England," said Gould, as per ESPNcricinfo.
"We currently see them obviously in bilaterals and actually quite a lot in county cricket. But that's not something that we have predetermined through this process," he added.
Speaking further, he said, "In terms of the Indian TV market, the overseas market is very important for us."
"The fact that we have got such a wide-ranging set of investors from around the globe will, I believe, help us to add extra value to our overseas broadcast rights," he added.
