England captain Brook says a ‘shame’ if Pakistan players snubbed for Hundred competition

AFP: England captain Harry Brook said on Saturday that it would be “a shame” if Pakistani players were shut out of England’s domestic white-ball Hundred competition by Indian-owned franchises.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan on Friday urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to “act fast” on BBC reports that Pakistani players will be “overlooked” in the player auction next month.

Ahead of England’s opening Super Eights clash against Sri Lanka in Kandy on Sunday, Brook — who will play for Indian-owned Sunrisers Leeds in the Hundred this year — was asked about the issue.

“Our main focus now is what’s coming up in the T20 World Cup. It’s not really any of our business, to be honest,” said Brook.

“But what I would say is Pakistan have been a great cricket nation for many years.”

Long-standing political tensions between India and Pakistan have led to the border rivals only playing each other in international cricket events.

Their Colombo showdown at the ongoing T20 World Cup only went ahead after Pakistan called off a threatened boycott.

“I think there’s about 50, 60 players in the auction, and it would be a shame to not see some of them in there,” said Brook.

“There’s some amazing cricketers and, yeah, and 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.”

The newly renamed Sunrisers Leeds is owned by Indian conglomerate Sun Group, one of the four of the eight Hundred franchises with connections to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The others are Manchester Super Giants, Southern Brave and MI London.

It has been claimed that politics has also led to an effective ban on Pakistani players participating in the Indian Premier League since 2009.

The ECB has been unable to substantiate the BBC allegations, but former England captain Vaughan called for the governing body to investigate the issue thoroughly.

Vaughan referred to the ECB’s stated aim of cricket becoming the most inclusive sport in the country.

“The 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,” Vaughan posted on X.

Only two Pakistan internationals — Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim — appeared in last year’s Hundred, the final edition before new investors became involved.