London: A number of overseas stars are expected to pull out of the inaugural edition of the Hundred due to a packed schedule and international commitments.
West Indies, Pakistan, Australia will all be in action in July this year and as a result, their availability in the competition would be limited. Two Australia women players -- Rachael Haynes and Jess Jonassen -- have already withdrawn from the women's tournament due to quarantine requirements.
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Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced its schedule last week and the end of their series against Australia will be clashing with the start of the Hundred. Seven of the nine Australians contracted to play in the men's competition of The Hundred were named in an enlarged 23-man squad for the series against Windies.
Cricket Australia is also in talks with Bangladesh Cricket Board for a series and if this goes ahead, the clash with The Hundred would be increased further, stated the report.
Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are expected to feature in the T20I series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. The series against Pakistan will conclude on August 3 in Guyana and the destination is on UK's red list so it will present a quarantining complication for these four players.
Pakistan play two Tests against West Indies beginning on August 12 and August 20, and as a result, it is safe to say Shaheen Shah Afridi won't be playing in this year's Hundred.
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The ECB however still remains hopeful that their competition will have the high-profile overseas stars involved. "The realities of Covid mean there remain practicalities that are difficult for some overseas players to overcome."
The Hundred is a 100-ball cricket competition that will see prominent players (both men and women) featuring in the tournament later this year in the English summer.
