Agha, Shaheen, Usman among 63 Pakistan players to register for Hundred 2026 auction

Almost all members of Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad—including captain Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Saim Ayub, and Usman Tariq—have registered for The Hundred auction to be held in London. The auction list features 711 players, including domestic and international cricketers from all cricket-playing nations except India.

Their decision to enter the March auction comes amid reports that more than half of the eight franchises may avoid bidding for Pakistani players. How many Pakistan players are eventually picked will also be subject to international commitments. As per the ICC FTP, Pakistan are scheduled to have an away Test series against West Indies in August.

Last season, only two Pakistan players—Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Wasim—featured in the tournament (for Northern Superchargers), while Zafar Gohar was part of the Oval Invincibles squad.

With six of the eight franchises having Indian connections—London Spirit (US-based tech investors), MI Oval (Reliance Industries), Manchester SuperGiants (RPSG Group), Southern Brave (GMR Group), SunRisers Leeds (Sun TV), and Welsh Fire (US-based Sanjay Govil)—widespread reports in the English media suggest these owners will refrain from bidding for any of the 63 Pakistani players listed.

"Pakistan cricketers are not being considered by Indian-owned sides for next month's Hundred auction," the BBC reported, quoting sources. However, a couple of franchises that Cricbuzz spoke to remained non-committal, stating they would look to assemble the strongest possible squads. The auction is scheduled for March 11 and 12.

Of the six teams with Indian connections, four have direct IPL links—Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow SuperGiants, and SunRisers Hyderabad—and they, along with other Indian owners, have stayed away from signing Pakistani players in overseas leagues like SA20 or ILT20. The decision is understood in light of diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan. Only one ILT20 franchise, Desert Vipers, currently has a Pakistani player in its roster.

Apart from Shaheen, Saim, Salman, and Usman, other top Pakistan players who have registered include Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah (all £100,000 base price), Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Zaman Khan, Usman Tariq (£75,000), Faheem Ashraf, Shahibzada Farhan, Usama Mir, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Afaq Afridi, and Asif Afridi (all £50,000). Salman Ali Agha's floor price is £75,000.

Other notable players registered for the auction include Finn Allen, Jonny Bairstow, Trent Boult, Quinton de Kock, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shimron Hetmyer, David Miller, Adil Rashid, Sherfane Rutherford, David Willey, Moeen Ali, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Alzarri Joseph, Angelo Mathews, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, and Shoaib Bashir.

Auction Details and Squad Structure

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stated teams will need to buy between 16–18 players for their men's squads, while women's squads will comprise 15 players. The overall salary pot per team for the men's competition is £2.05 million. For the women's competition in 2026, the salary pot will increase by 100% to £880,000 per team.

Teams are allowed up to four pre-auction signings from mid-November to the end of January. A maximum of three can be direct signings, which must be overseas or England centrally contracted players. At least one must be a retention, which can be any player—England centrally contracted, overseas, or domestic.

Pre-auction salary deductions for the men's league are:

• £350,000 (1 signing)
• £650,000 (2 players)
• £850,000 (3 players)
• £950,000 (4 players)

For the women's competition:

• £130,000 (1 signing)
• £240,000 (2 players)
• £310,000 (3 players)
• £360,000 (4 players)

These rules are largely based on IPL auction and retention regulations.