Credit: X
Recently, the owners of the multiple IPL franchises including the likes of Mumbai Indians, Lucknow SuperGiants, SunRisers Hyderabad, and Delhi Capitals have bought stakes in The Hundred teams, including Oval Invincibles, London Spirit, Northern Superchargers, and Southern Brave, respectively. Over ₹3200 Crore have been spent by the IPL teams to have the ownership in England’s franchise league.
With the investments of the Indian franchises, there have also been several questions whether the Pakistani players will be seen playing in the Hundred. However, the Chief Executive of England Cricket Board (ECB), Richard Gould had made his stance clear regarding the involvement of the players from Pakistan in the Hundred. "We're aware of that in other regions," Gould was quoted as saying by India Today limited exposure of Pakistani players in IPL-owned teams in other tournaments; "but that won't be happening here," he added.
That is not factored into our plans: Richard Gould on involvement of Indian players in The Hundred
Apart from the Pakistani players, Richard Gould also spoke about the availability of the Indian players in The Hundred and whether the players from India can be seen taking part in the tournament in future. The next season of The Hundred is set to begin on August 5 and final will be played on August 31 in 2025.
"In terms of availability of Indian players, that is not factored into our plans. The BCCI's position has been very clear. At some point, we'd love to see Indian players come and play in England. We currently see them, obviously, in bilaterals and actually quite a lot in county cricket. But that's not something that we have predetermined through this process," Gould added.
