Usman Tariq becomes the first Pakistan player to be sold at the Hundred Player Auction. Usman Tariq was picked up by Birmingham Phoenix for 5.04 crore PKR. He was soon joined by Abrar Ahmed who was picked up by the Sunrisers Leeds franchise. Earlier in the day, Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf went unsold in the auction. Before the Hundred auction there were a lot of rumors and controversy surrounding the fact that Indian owners are unlikely to bid for a Pakistan player but that was put to rest by the press release of the Hundred which said that players will be picked regardless of nationality. Usman Tariq had a good impact in the recent 2026 WT20.
Usman Tariq was the talking point ahead of the World Cup and there was hype surrounding him. The Indian team was also asked about how they will tackle the spinner. Usman Tariq has plenty of variations which makes him a very good bowler in the middle overs. He also has a pause in the action and delivered a splendid performance in the group stages of the WT20.
Those performances have had an impact on him getting selected in the Hundred league and he has been in and around different franchise leagues over the last year. Usman Tariq also played the CPL and ILT20 so the demand for him has been there but now it continues with him giving stellar performances. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the English conditions which will not help the spinners a lot.
Usman Tariq bowls with a slingy action and has the famous stop before delivering the ball and he has been a subject of controversy with some of the players feeling that his action is illegal. England player Tom Banton and Australian Cameron Green are a few players who were not pleased with his action after getting dismissed by him. He has also cleared his action multiple times and as of now he is set to play for Birmingham Phoenix.
