Threat of player action has been issued by a former England cricketer amid reports of Pakistan player boycott at The Hundred auction by the IPL-owned teams.

The threat of a possible protest has been issued by former England all-rounder Moeen Ali if franchises ignore Pakistan players during The Hundred auction. An explosive report in the BBC has claimed that IPL-owned franchises in The Hundred decided against bidding for Pakistan players.

In the eight-team The Hundred competition, at least four teams – Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds – are partly owned by conglomerates
that also own teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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The inside news has rattled the cricket community in England, with former players and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) expressing deep concern. Former England captain Michael Vaughan urged the ECB to stop anything like this from happening.

“The ECB need to act fast on this .. they own the league and this should not be allowed to happen,” Vaughan wrote on X.

The ECB need to act fast on this .. they own the league and this should not be allowed to happen .. the most inclusive sport in the country is not one that allows this to happen .. https://t.co/IYysTSIYHt

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 20, 2026

Meanwhile, the ECB has also written to all franchises, reminding them that The Hundred is open to all players from around the world.

Some of the big Pakistani cricketers, including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf, are part of the 67 cricketers who have registered for the upcoming Hundred auction, which will take place on 11 and 12 March.

Amid the controversy, Moeen Ali, whose father hails from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, has said that it would be a “shame” for the UK if players are discriminated against in the Hundred over their nationality.

“In the UK, I’m not sure that can happen – and I hope it doesn’t happen,” Moeen told Telegraph Sport. “It just shouldn’t happen, hopefully it won’t happen. We just have to wait and see if it does, but I think it’d be a massive shame, and I’m sure the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) will definitely keep an eye out.”

Moeen Ali added that players in England may take collective action to put pressure on the franchises not to be involved in what has been reported.

“There’ll be a group of players that will speak up,” he said. “There’ll be things done about it. I think players should speak up. Anyone that has any sort of concern for these kind of things – it doesn’t matter if they have Pakistani heritage – should speak up. Obviously, the news is very new. So I’ve not really had a chance to speak to anyone, but most of the players would be on the same page. It’d be really interesting to see what happens, because I genuinely think other countries can do what they want, obviously we’re not in control of those things, but in the UK, we have a bit more say about these things.”

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It’s important to note that Pakistani players have also not been part of India owned-franchise in the SA20 and ILT20.

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