‘Sapne Suhane ladakpan ke’ – Fans react as Pakistan skipper Babar Azam goes unsold in The Hundred draft

The drafts for the third season of The Hundred are announced by the franchises and the England and Wales cricket board (ECB). As many as 30 players were picked by the teams ahead of the tournament while some big names went unsold. These big guns included Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and star batter Mohammad Rizwan. This is the second time in a row that Babar failed to get a contract in the tournament.

Apart from Babar, star players such as Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Marcus Stoinis, Shakib Al Hasan and Adam Zampa also went unsold. These decisions were mostly influenced by the issues of the availability of players. They were in the top categories of 100,000 and 125,000 EUR.

Meanwhile, star Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was in huge demand at the drafts. He was roped in by Welsh Fires for 100,000 EUR. Notably, he will join his countryman Haris Rauf in the Welsh Squad. Apart from him, players from New Zealand attracted the eyes of franchises as they were in demand as players like Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, and Devon Conway landed deals 

In the recently concluded 8th edition of the Pakistan Super League, Babar Azam led Peshawar Zalmi to the playoffs. He led his team to Eliminator 2 where they faced Lahore Qalandars and went down against them. This season was worth remembering for Babar as he was the second-leading run-getter in the tournament.

Babar scored 522 runs in 11 matches at an average of 52.20 and a strike rate of 145.40. Babar also hammered his maiden ton in the PSL while scoring 115 runs against Quetta Gladiators. On the other hand, Mohammed Rizwan also led his team to the finals but eventually failed to win the game. He was the leading run-getter in the tournament with 550 runs in 12 games at an average of 55.00. Notably, Rizwan also hammered a century in season eight.

Meanwhile, netizens react to the news of them being unsold in The Hundreds and call it a fair decision. Questioning Babar’s strike rate a Twitter user said, “Babar ko to 100 balls chahiye akele 50 karne ke liye.”

Here are some Tweets: