'Zimbabar discovering reality' - Fans troll Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for not getting picked in The Hundred 2023 draft

Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan (Image credit: Twitter)

The 2023 edition of The Hundred cricket tournament is set to commence on August 1, with Trent Rockets taking on Southern Brave in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Ahead of the third season of the franchise 100-ball cricket tournament, the players' draft took place on Thursday, March 23, where several familiar names were picked and some big names failed to attract any franchises.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, and West Indies all-rounders Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell were among the notable names who failed to impress in the draft. Despite their impressive record in white-ball cricket, no team showed interest in Babar and Rizwan. The Pakistani pair had a reserve price of £100,000 for the draft. The duo performed well in the recently concluded edition of the Pakistan Super League, with Rizwan being the leading run-getter in the competition with 550 runs from 12 games, while Babar was the second-highest with 522 runs from 11 outings.

Meanwhile, Pakistan speedster Shaheen Afridi, who recently led Lahore Qalandars to the Pakistan Super League title, was bought by Welsh Fire alongside his national teammate Haris Rauf.

Shakib, Stoinis, Boult also attracted no takers

Caribbean superstars Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell also failed to find a team. Both are known for their power-hitting and can single-handedly turn any match around. Russell will play for the Kolkata franchise in the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League while Pollard announced his retirement from the tournament last year. Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, the Australian duo of Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa, and New Zealand speedster Trent Boult were the other big guns that went unsold in the eight-team tournament.

Meanwhile, India women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana will play for Trent Rockets and Southern Brave, respectively, in the upcoming edition of The Hundred. India's opening batter was retained by her former team while Trent signed Kaur in the first-ever Women’s Hundred Draft on Thursday.

Many fans took to social media to troll the two Pakistan players for failing to find a team in 'The Hundred' draft. Here are some reactions:

Meanwhile Babar fans who claimed he is better than Virat to Babar when he went unsold pic.twitter.com/2U2qbTzuCm

— ً (@SarcasticCowboy) March 23, 2023

Frauds going unsold 😂😂😂😂

Only Russell deserved a contract

— Bakri Player (@cric_nerd2) March 23, 2023

King Babar discovering reality 😂😂

— Shahzeb Khan (@theshahzebkhan) March 23, 2023

Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan are not fully available because of the series.

— Ehtisham Siddique (@iMShami_) March 23, 2023

After seeing the first 2 names 🔔 pic.twitter.com/AhUyoI7ILD

— Neon Man (@NeonMan_01) March 23, 2023

Let's laugh at Pakistan 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

— Mr. President (@crazyvampire_) March 23, 2023

IPL mai 20 crore mai bikega mera Gobar azam😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

— Abhishek Yadav (@Abhishek701706) March 23, 2023

Day without embarrassment is a day wasted for Babar Azam and Pakistan.

— 🪶 ︎ ︎ (@omg_bro_wtf) March 23, 2023

And they are comparing king kohli with Zimbabar

— Rohit Yadav (@Rohit_Cricket7) March 23, 2023

pic.twitter.com/hQIzWtrWSR

— 𝙍𝘿𝙆 #LEO (@Goatcheeku_18) March 23, 2023