London: Pakistan spinners Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq have so far emerged as the only players selected from the pool of Pakistani talent during The Hundred 2026 men’s auction at Piccadilly Lights.
Birmingham Phoenix snapped up Tariq for £140,000 (PKR 5.32 crore), becoming the first Pakistani player to bid after pacer Haris Rauf, all-rounder Shatab Khan and batsman Saim Ayub went unsold in their respective rounds.
Meanwhile, IPL affiliate franchise Sunrisers Leeds showed strong interest in Abrar and signed the Pakistan spinner for a whopping £190,000 (PKR 7.12 crore).
The Kavya Maran-owned franchise outbid Trent Rockets to secure the Pakistan international’s services, marking a significant moment when an Indian-owned franchise invested significantly in a Pakistani player.
Rauf, Shadab and Sime were later added to the list of unsold players, making the rest of the squad eligible for re-selection should the owners re-select them.
The final round was held for unsold players, where each owner had the opportunity to select one player from the rest of the pool with their respective base price.
The team that named a player first protects them until they outbid another franchise to claim the star.
However, the Pakistan trio went unsold as none of the eight franchise teams picked them during their turns in the final round, with the bidding ending as all sides finalized their squads.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi was among the five overseas players who opted out of the auction at a late announcement, a blow to the tournament just hours before the bidding was due to begin.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Thursday that Pakistan pacer Quinton de Kock has pulled out of the bidding along with Sunil Narine, AM Ghazanfar and Peter Siddle.
The 2026 season of The Hunter begins on July 21 and ends on August 16. The opening match will see MI London (formerly Oval Invincibles) take on Sunrisers Leeds (formerly Northern Superchargers) at The Oval.
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