The much-anticipated The Hundred 2024 draft saw some of the sport’s biggest names, including former Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Australian opener David Warner, go unsold. Insights into the reasons for these surprising omissions were offered during a panel discussion featuring England cricketers Nasser Hussain and Charles Dagnall.
The interview also shed light on other notable players who were not selected such as Daryl Mitchell, Sunil Narine, and Tim David. A viewer called ‘Ehsha’ asked a panelist during the discussion: “Can someone explain to me that they paid £125,000 for Tom Kohler-Cadmore and didn’t spend £125,000 on Babar Azam or David Warner?”
“Well, the interesting thing is that I wrote down the needs of a lot of teams that I thought, and this is just my opinion, and I reckon that a lot of those sides picked for needs. You look at some of the players that weren’t picked, and I think that it’s easy, Nasser Hussain, to suggest that you look at names in big bright lights and think, well, I’ve got to get them because they’re great players, teams don’t necessarily have to have done it,” former first-class cricketer Dagnall replied.
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Look at the players who were not selected. Daryl Mitchell, I wrote it here. Sunil Narine and Tim David were not selected, and Babar Azam, Mujeeb, and David Warner did not go. So the selections are interesting.
One of the things about the Pakistan players and also David Warner’s availability is something that sides are looking at a lot and whether they will be available for the whole season and that could have tipped one of them,” Dagnall added.
It’s worth noting that on Wednesday only three Pakistani players managed to secure contracts in this year’s draft, with Naseem Shah leading the pack when he joined Birmingham Phoenix for an impressive £125,000. Shaheen Afridi and Imad Wasim were also picked up by Welsh Fire and Trent Rockets for £100,000 each.
Meanwhile, the exclusion of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan came as a surprise, especially considering their late inclusions in the selection list. The fourth edition of The Hundred is set to begin on July 23, 2024, with the Oval Invincibles defending their title against Birmingham Phoenix in the opener.
