Two Pakistan players included in maiden The Hundred draft

Pakistan’s batsman Babar Azam and former all-rounder Shahid Afridi have been included in the initial draft of The Hundred which is scheduled to take place on October 20.

The Hundred will be the first tournament based on the 100-ball format and is expected to start on July 17, 2020. Eight city-based teams will participate in the event.

Many stars from all across the world have made themselves available for the tournament. Players such as Eoin Morgan, Shakibal Hasan, Quinton de Kock, Aaron Finch, Kane Williamson, Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Lasith Malinga, Steve Smith, Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Starc are expected to take part in the draft, according to Wisden.  

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The draft will be televised in Britain on October 20. Each team will be allotted 100 seconds to choose their required players.

England's Morgan was excited about the new format and believed the tournament was essential in promoting cricket in the country.

"The Hundred, yes, I do think we need it. We need one franchise-based tournament, with fewer teams, in order to consistently sell the game to the country,” Morgan said in an interview with BBC sports. "Anybody I speak to who loves sport but doesn't necessarily love cricket is crying out for a tournament that he or she understands, because 18 teams going for a long period of time just doesn't make sense to anybody."