James Anderson baffled as Babar Azam goes unsold at The Hundred draft

England bowling legend, James Anderson, was left baffled after Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, went unsold at this year’s The Hundred draft.

Babar, who entered the draft with a reserve price of £100,000, didn’t find any takers in the aforementioned draft.

While speaking in BBC’s Tailenders podcast, Anderson said that he would have spent the entire budget to make sure that Babar was in his side.

Host: Why was Babar not picked up? Was his price too high?

Anderson: I’d pay double for him [Babar Azam]. I’d spend the whole budget on Babar Azam. The only thing I can guess [for his absence] is that there might have been an availability issue. He might not be available for the whole Hundred.

Jimmy Anderson and the @TailendersPod are baffled as to why #BabarAzam𓃵 was not picked in the @thehundred draft pic.twitter.com/uKPZU5wSER

— Faraz Qasim (@farazqasim) March 30, 2023

The Hundred is set to take place from August 1 to August 27 this year and will clash with Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.

Anderson also shared how he was also once overlooked when he entered the IPL auction.

"I went into the IPL auction once and didn’t get picked up," Anderson said.

In last year’s draft as well, Babar was not picked as the tournament clashed with Pakistan’s international commitments. Babar was listed at the reserve price of £125,000.