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The Hundred Draft: Mitchell Starc withdraws from player draft, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi included

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has withdrawn his name from the Men’s Hundred tournament this year, removing himself from the list of players participating in the draft scheduled for today. On the other hand, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Babar Azam names are included in the draft who are set to participate in the tournament starting from August 1.

Starc was among the few multi-format Australian stars who had entered the competition, which is set to commence one day after the conclusion of the fifth Ashes Test against England.

Upon entering the draft last month, Starc would have been an attractive choice for one of the five £125,000 slots available for overseas players.

However, the Northern Superchargers, the team represented by his wife Alyssa Healy, did not have availability within that price range.

Previously, Starc was also considered as a top draft pick by the Superchargers ahead of the 2022 draft but withdrew shortly before the registration deadline.

Several prominent overseas players have pulled out of the draft, including Australia’s Jhye Richardson, South African players Anrich Nortje, Aiden Markram, and Tristan Stubbs.

Nortje was recently announced as the marquee pick for Washington (DC) Freedom in the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament in the USA, running from July 13 to 30. The Hundred will commence on August 1.

Notable absentees among women cricketers include Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, and Tayla Vlaeminck. They have joined other Australian stars like Meg Lanning, Ashleigh Gardner, and Tahlia McGrath, who secured major deals with their respective franchises in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India.

Sutherland had previously been a retained player for Welsh Fire.

Laurie Evans, the player of the match in the 2022 Big Bash final, has been included in the draft after his provisional ban following a positive drug test was lifted.

Other prominent names in the draft include England’s Ben Foakes, Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur, Australia’s Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, and New Zealand’s Trent Boult, among others.

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi & Others inclusion in Hundred draft

Pakistan captain Babar Azam is the most in demand player right now according the poll conducted by The Hundred team. He fetched the highest public votes for The Hundred draft, more than three times of Shaheen Afridi who received the second highest votes. Mohammad Rizwan also made the top 10 list with 4% votes.

The Hundred Draft Public Votes – Photo Courtesy Twitter

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