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The Hundred is an upcoming 100-ball per innings competition between eight teams in England. The year 2020 will see this brand new evolution of the game. Similar to the model of the Big Bash League, The Hundred will have both men's and women's tournaments with teams representing the same franchises.
While the franchises build women's squads through direct negotiation with the players, the men's teams are put together through the draft process.
A mini-draft took place on October 3, where the teams selected their marquee players. Following the selection of the core group, the eight teams participated in yet another draft process on October 20. During this draft, each squad acquired its complete structure.
With an opportunity to make the first selection, Trent Rockers started the proceedings by choosing the crafty leg spinner Rashid Khan. The other teams followed one by one and chose big names like Andre Russell, Steve Smith, Sunil Narine, etc.
Judging by the completed squads, the tournament is going to be exciting with highly reputed world-class cricketers. However, some notable names didn't get selected and will be absent in this tournament. Let us have a look at them.
#5 Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo is a household name in the world of franchise cricket. The Trinidadian cricketer has played in numerous T20 Leagues around the world.
Over the years, Bravo has played a crucial role in the success of Chennai Super Kings. They won the title twice (2011 and 2018) while Bravo was with them. He was also part of Sydney Sixer's successful BBL campaign in 2011-12. Besides this, the all-rounder also captained Trinbago Knight Riders to three Caribbean Premier League title wins (2015,2017, and 2018).
Overlooking all these feats might look absurd, but there seems to be a solid logic behind Bravo getting snubbed. Although the all-rounder has an enticing resume, there is not much of a promise in him for the future. Selecting Bravo will undoubtedly bolster the name value of any franchise, but it will only do for a short period. With age not on his side, Bravo could play just a season or two; therefore, the franchises weren't interested.
Also see – World Test Championship Schedule
#4 Trent Boult
Trent Boult, along with his skipper Kane Williamson, set his reserve price at £100,000. While the Daniel Vettori coached Birmingham picked the New Zeland captain, no team showed interest in the fast bowler. As a result, Boult will be a non-competitor in the coming season.
The franchises leaving out Boult seems surprising given the fact that he is one of the best white ball bowlers of his generation, but the decision can be attributed to his partial availability in the window of the tournament.
He has various records to his name in international cricket and also has the experience of playing in two consecutive World Cup finals. The fast bowler was the joint highest wicket-taker in the 2015 World Cup and one of the main reasons behind New Zealand reaching the finals. With 22 wickets in 9 matches, Boult made the team look formidable throughout the tournament.
In the 2019 World Cup, the bowler grabbed 17 wickets in 10 matches. He also took a hat-trick in the tournament and became the first New Zealander in history to do so. Therefore, The Hundred will miss the unique touch this trailblazer brings.
#3 Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi is a cricketing legend who is immensely popular for his attacking style of batting. Every cricket fan knows about his exploits with the bat, particularly his 18-year long world record of scoring the fastest hundred in ODIs, a feat he achieved in 1996.
Now at the fag end of his career, Afridi contributes whatever he can to entertain his fans, by taking part in the T10 League and the Pakistan Super League.
With hopes of bringing his vintage set of repertoires to the new format, the veteran registered his name. However, no franchise was interested in obtaining the services of the legend. It is puzzling to figure out why these teams ignored the star power that comes with Afridi.
For players like Afridi, age doesn't matter as the value and energy he brings to a side is inestimable. Whatever the case for his snubbing might be, it is unfortunate because the fans are going to miss his legendary batting skills and useful bowling on display in the innovative format.
#2 Lasith Malinga
Before the draft took place, there were enough reasons to believe that one of the teams would pick Lasith Malinga. The veteran's 4-wicket haul in the 2019 World Cup at Headingley against England showed how well the legend had studied the English conditions.
Furthermore, his match-winning performance against the formidable CSK in the 2019 IPL finals helped Mumbai Indians win by the smallest of margins. Therefore, it looked highly possible for him to receive a contract in The Hundred.
However, despite Malinga's recent exploits, he got unpicked. Malinga is the only bowler to have three hat-tricks in ODIs - two of them coming in World Cups. Besides, the king of the yorker recently became first bowler to take 100 wickets in T20I cricket.
Considering his past achievements and recent form, one of the franchises should have picked him. The only seeming reason for Malinga getting snubbed is the limit of three overseas players per side.
#1 Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle needs no introduction. The self-proclaimed "Universe Boss" is an outstanding cricketer of the shortest format of the game. Hitting sixes at will and accumulating mammoth runs is as easy as eating a bar of chocolate for this legend.
No one plays a fast-paced cricket with so much power and dominance like Gayle. It is not an exaggeration to say that the ball travels wherever the left-hander wants it. However, the franchises of The Hundred weren't interested in him at the draft.
Despite being West Indies' leading run scorer in ODIs and the highest run scorer in T20s, Gayle was unable to attract any takers. The 40-year-old's unsuccessful captaincy and off-colour batting at CPL 2019, resulting in the Jamaica Tallawahs getting wooden spoon, might be a reason why he got ignored.
Ignoring Gayle seems to be good while considering the absence of long term potential in him, but his popularity and skills make one think otherwise. The hard-hitter has played many groundbreaking innings that increased the fame of T20 cricket. Therefore, it looks unfortunate for both Gayle and the new 100-ball format to miss each other.
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