Warner, Rabada, Shakib sign up for 'The Hundred' player draft

London [UK], February 17 : Babar Azam, David Warner, and Nicholas Pooran are among the star overseas players who have signed up for the upcoming men's players draft of the inaugural edition of 'The Hundred'.
Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, and Kieron Pollard have also made themselves available for selection in The Hundred men's draft.
A total of 252 players from outside the UK have entered The Hundred men's draft, which will take place behind closed doors on Monday, February 22.
The outcome of the men's draft will be revealed throughout the day on Tuesday, February 23. A total of 254 domestic players have also put their names forward for the men's draft.
The eight teams have already retained a number of players from the 2019 Draft. They must now fill the remaining gaps in their squads, with 35 slots open across the teams. Of these, seven will be filled by overseas players and the remaining 28 by domestic players.
Rob Hillman, Director of Event Operations, in an official release said: "We are delighted with the level of interest we've had from both overseas and domestic players. There is a huge appetite to play in The Hundred which is designed to open up cricket to more families and young people with fast world-class action on the pitch and blockbuster entertainment off it. The calibre of the players involved means that it's going to be an exciting men's draft - with a lot of competition for spaces amongst really top-drawer names."
The Hundred is the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) cricket board's competition and it was set to be launched in 2020 with eight teams including the London Spirit. However, the tournament was postponed to this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.