0:
“The Hundred” which is a domestic English franchise tournament with a unique concept of 100 ball-innings is all set to commence in 2021 after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the grueling Coronavirus pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will organize the players draft on the 23rd of February. The upcoming draft will be surrounded by a lot of buzz and entertainment as the concept of the tournament is very new and unique.
Fans will witness the much-anticipated 2021 edition in July and the franchises have already submitted their list of released and retained players. A lot of overseas players have also registered themselves for the draft. 10 international players have registered for the highest bracket of money- GBP 100,000. These players are Tamim Iqbal, Babar Azam, Kieron Pollard, Kagiso Rabada, David Warner, Nicholas Pooran, Lockie Ferguson, Quinton De Kock and Jason Holder. The elite price bracket of GBP 80,000 includes Shahid Afridi, Faf du Plessis, Moises Henriques, Shimron Hetmyer, Mitchell Marsh, Joshua Philippe, Jhye Richardson and Imran Tahir. The GBP 60,000 bracket includes Martin Guptill, Shadab Khan, Marnus Labuschagne, Chris Morris, Colin Munro, Anrich Nortje and Dale Steyn. Meanwhile, Tim Bresnan, Richard Levi and Ryan Ten Doeschate are the only three domestic players who are in the reserve bracket.
Director of Event Operations, Rob Hillman was excited with the interest shown by the players for the tournament, “We are delighted with the level of interest we’ve had from both overseas and domestic players. There is a huge appetite to play in The Hundred which is designed to open up cricket to more families and young people with fast world-class action on the pitch and blockbuster entertainment off it. The calibre of the players involved means that it’s going to be an exciting men’s draft – with a lot of competition for spaces amongst really top-drawer names.”
All the franchises can have a total of 14 players in their squad with 3 overseas players allowed. With such a unique format and such high-voltage international players participating, the league will provide a fresh experience to the crowds and is sure to be a massive hit among fans.