Former England allrounder Moeen Ali says it would be a “massive shame” if Pakistan players are not picked by IPL-owned franchises at the player auction for The Hundred next month. Moeen added that such discrimination has no place in the UK and urged ECB to step in.
Four teams in The Hundred – Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds – are linked to IPL-owned franchises. According to media reports, these teams are expected not to pick any Pakistan players because of ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.
“In the UK, I’m not sure that can happen – and I hope it doesn’t happen,” Moeen told Telegraph Sport.
“It just shouldn’t happen, hopefully it won’t happen. We just have to wait and see if it does, but I think it’d be a massive shame, and I’m sure the ECB will definitely keep an eye out.”
The former England player said that the players who are concerned with this development should speak up irrespective of any heritage.
“There’ll be a group of players that will speak up,” he added. “There’ll be things done about it. I think players should speak up. Anyone that has any sort of concern for these kind of things – it doesn’t matter if they have Pakistani heritage – should speak up,” Moeen said.
“Obviously, the news is very new. So I’ve not really had a chance to speak to anyone, but most of the players would be on the same page. It’d be really interesting to see what happens, because I genuinely think other countries can do what they want, obviously we’re not in control of those things, but in the UK, we have a bit more say about these things,” he added.
According to a report by Telecom Asia Sport, the Pakistan cricket Board has planned to write to the ECB ahead of the player auction on March 11 and 12, asking them to ensure that Pakistan players are treated fairly. This year’s The Hundred is scheduled to begin from July 21 to August 16.
Sources quoted in the report said PCB officials are expected to raise the matter formally. They feel that sidelining Pakistan players would contradict the ECB’s public stance on diversity in cricket.
Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Tariq are some of the big names among 63 Pakistan players who have reportedly registered for The Hundred auction.
Earlier, England white-ball captain Harry Brook said it would be disappointing not to see Pakistan players in The Hundred, praising Pakistan as a strong cricket nation with talented players. Former England captain Michael Vaughan has also urged the ECB to look into the situation closely.
