Over 50 Pakistani players have registered for The Hundred 2026 auction, and some of the big names include Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Usman Tariq. However, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were surprisingly absent.
The duo took part in the BBL 2025-26 season, but they ignored The Hundred, and the decision came as a surprise since most of the big players in Pakistan had given their names for the auction, barring the two.
Explaining the reason why Babar, Rizwan ignored The Hundred
Why did two of Pakistan's star players, unlike their other teammates, not participate in The Hundred? The Hundred 2026 begins on July 21st, and during this period, Pakistan will travel to the West Indies for a Test series.
Despite failing to perform well in T20Is and ODIs, both Rizwan and Babar are essential members of Pakistan's Test team, and the management needs their two best players for the difficult West Indies tour.
Pakistan is going through a difficult phase in Tests, currently ranked fifth in the WTC 2023-25 points table, as the team needs a clear direction to dominate the Whites. The team drew its last home series against South Africa, and therefore, Pakistan needs its best players (Babar and Rizwan) to play in the West Indies series.
Another logical reason for the two players not being selected for The Hundred was their performance in BBL 2025-26. Babar represented Sydney Sixers and had a poor tournament, scoring just 202 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 103.06.
Why Pakistan players may regret putting forward their names
According to reports, the IPL-owned Hundred teams are not considering bidding for the Pakistan players in the upcoming auction. Players from Pakistan have not featured in the IPL since 2009 for diplomatic reasons, and the trend is set to continue in The Hundred.
Four of The Hundred's eight franchises - Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds - are now at least part-owned by companies that control IPL teams, and reportedly, the interest in Pakistan players will be limited in the auction, which is set to take place on March 11, and 12.
Out of the 8 teams, four are partially or fully-owned by the IPL franchises, and the Pakistan players will hope that the remaining four teams could bid for them in the auction.
