Overview
- After reports that IPL-linked franchises might avoid Pakistan players, the ECB and all eight Hundred teams issued a joint statement saying players must not be excluded on nationality and selections will be based on performance, availability and team needs.
- The ECB has written to franchises reminding them it can investigate recruitment decisions and refer any proven nationality-based exclusion to the independent Cricket Regulator.
- BBC reporting cited messages from a senior ECB official to an agent indicating interest in Pakistan players would be limited to non‑IPL‑linked teams, a claim that has intensified scrutiny of the auction.
- MI London and other franchises publicly echoed the ECB stance, stating they will not bar players based on country and will choose squads on merit.
- Sixty‑seven Pakistan players, including 63 men and four women, have registered for the London auction on March 11–12, against a backdrop of historically limited Pakistan representation in The Hundred and long-standing absence from IPL-linked leagues.