LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board and franchises of The Hundred have issued a joint statement to assert that players must not be excluded on grounds of nationality amid fears that Pakistani cricketers could be deliberately ignored by at least four Indian-owned teams at next month's auction.
Four out of the eight franchises -- Manchester Super Giants (RPSG Group), MI London (Reliance), Southern Brave (GMR) and Sunrisers Leeds (Sun Group) -- are linked to team owners in the IPL and according reports in the British media, all of them would avoid Pakistani players.
However, even without any Indian presence among the owners, only two Pakistan players were a part of The Hundred last year and overall just nine have managed to feature in the first five seasons.
The new owners will take charge of the operations from this season onwards.
"The Hundred was established to reach new audiences, grow the game of cricket and ensure that everyone -- regardless of their ethnicity, gender, faith, nationality or otherwise -- feels they belong in our sport.
Players must not be excluded on the grounds of their nationality," asserted the joint statement from the ECB and all eight owners, including the ones with IPL links.
"As the governing body responsible for running the tournament, the ECB is committed to ensuring there is no place for discrimination, and has regulations in place to take robust action to tackle any such conduct.
"All eight teams commit to selection being based solely on cricketing performance, availability, and the needs of each team," the statement added.
On Monday, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan had expressed his desire to play in The Hundred.
As many as 67 male and female cricketers from Pakistan, including almost the entire men's T20 World Cup squad, have registered for the tournament's auction.
As far as the Indian Premier League is concerned, Pakistani players were barred from the tournament following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that was carried out by terrorists from across the border.
No Pakistan cricketer has featured in SA20 since its launch in 2023, with all six teams owned by franchise groups linked to the IPL.
Similarly, in the UAE's ILT20, franchises controlled by the owners of MI London and Southern Brave have not signed a single Pakistan player across four seasons.
England captain Harry Brook had earlier said that it would be a shame if Pakistan cricketers did not take part in the competition and spinner Moeen Ali had warned that such an exclusion could lead to legal action against the owners.