The Hundred Draft: Steve Smith, Chris Gayle attract highest base price

England's highly anticipated upcoming cricket tournament, The Hundred will finally commence on July 2020. The upcoming 100-ball cricket tournament will be the newest format to be introduced the game and the inaugural edition will include eight city-based franchise teams. It will be contested by both men’s and women’s teams, which will include local English players as well as overseas superstars.

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Around 240 overseas players sign up for the inaugural draft

A total of 16 English players have been given the “Local Icon” status and around eight players from the England men's team are contractually obligated to represent their respective squads. Such players will not be recruited to other teams in the upcoming draft. However, around 240 foreign players will be entering the inaugural draft along with 331 local players, headlined by 2019 World Cup-winning members Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett.

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Steve Smith and Chris Gayle among players with the highest reserve price

Former Australian captain Steve Smith and West Indian T20 superstar Chris Gayle spearhead the list of players with the highest reserve price for the upcoming draft. Both players are joined by David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Kagiso Rabada and Lasith Malinga, who belong to £125k bracket. Smith, who recently made a comeback to international cricket after completing his one-year ban, had a dream-run in the 2019 Ashes series in England. The right-hander scored 774 runs across four Tests and was adjudged ‘Man of the Series’ for his performance.

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The above six players are joined by 17 other overseas superstars, who are going further with a reported £100k reserve price bracket. The £100k bracket includes players like Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Aaron Finch (Australia), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Chris Lynn (Australia), Glenn Maxwell (Australia), Sunil Narine (West Indies), Andre Russell (West Indies), Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Shane Watson (Australia) and Kane Williamson (New Zealand).

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