The Biggest Surprises in the 2023 Hundred Draft?
On Thursday, teams completed their squads for the upcoming third edition of the Hundred (England’s first-of-it’s sort league) after a tiring day.
A total of four players were included, from Pakistan. The newly found pace sensation and Player of the Pakistan Super League Season 8, Ihsanullah, was picked by three teams at the draft, and he ended up with the Oval Invincibles.
The two-time PSL-winning captain, Shaheen Afridi, was picked by the Welsh Fire to boost their performance in the upcoming season after going in the £100,000 category at the player draft.
The right-arm fast bowler, Haris Rauf, was also chosen by, the Welsh Fire in the later rounds. He was picked, in the £60,000 category.
Matt Roller, who has been watching the draft with an eagle eye, stated: ”The men’s draft was mostly about Welsh Fire’s attempts to lift themselves off the bottom after a disastrous 2022, and they look like a much stronger squad on paper, particularly with Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf in the same attack.”
Shadab Khan also went for £100,000. He was picked, by Birmingham Phoenix in the second round.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan turned out to be unlucky, as none of the teams picked them. It was not just the Pakistani stars but a host of other top-performing players who went unsold at the draft which included Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh, the West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard, and Trent Boult, the seamer from New Zealand, to name a few.
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Notably, 16 spots are still available in the men’s competition which will be selected by the virtue of The Vitality Wildcard Draft. The tournament will kick off at Trent Bridge on August 1.
