Shaheen Shah Afridi withdraws from the Hundred auction

Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is understood to have withdrawn from the Hundred 2026, just a day before the auction on March 12.

Pakistan’s international commitments

Shaheen is part of a list of five players who have withdrawn from the competition, including Quinton de Kock, Sunil Narine, AM Ghazanfar, and Peter Siddle.

The fast bowler is likely to focus on Pakistan’s red-ball tour of West Indies, which collides with the Hundred, set to take place in the July-August window. With Shaheen pulling out, the Pakistani representation in the Hundred has been reduced to 13.

Shaheen is one of the handful of Pakistanis who have played in the competition, as he represented Welsh Fire in six games during the 2023 edition, when he took six wickets. He was due to return to the competition the following season but pulled out at the last minute.

Pakistan players’ snub

Earlier, there were reports within the English media that the IPL-linked teams in the Hundred, which bought partial or full stakes in the franchises following last season, are not keen on considering Pakistan players in the auction.

The reason behind it was understood to be the strained political ties between India and Pakistan. The speculation only died down after the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and all of the Hundred franchises issued a joint statement reiterating that players will be included without any discrimination.

Updated list of Pakistanis in the Hundred 2026 auction longlist:

Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Usman Tariq, Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Muhammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Muhammad Amir, Zaman Khan, Usama Mir, Imad Wasim, Akif Javed, Salman Mirza.

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