Pakistan players in the spotlightpublished at 12:50 GMT

12:50 GMT

Fatima Sana of Pakistan celebrates after taking the wicket of Sachini Nisansala of Sri Lanka during the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024Image source, Getty Images

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the eight Hundred teams issued a statement recently asserting no-one will “be excluded on the grounds of their nationality” after BBC Sport reported the four franchises with owners linked to the Indian Premier League (IPL) would not consider players from Pakistan.

There are 14 representatives from Pakistan in the men’s auction and it is the third-most from an overseas country, behind 19 from South Africa and 18 from Australia.

In today’s women’s auction, there are two Pakistan players Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana – cut from four initial nominations – who are both in the long list of players who will be auctioned when we return after the lunch break.