50 Pakistan cricketers find no takers in Hundred Draft
London, Mar 14 (PTI): Top Pakistan cricketers such as Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub and Shadab Khan found no bidders in the Hundred Draft where 50 players from the country had signed up.
Pakistan were represented by 45 male cricketers and five female players in the draft.
Naseem and Shadab were in the top category price bracket of GBP 120000 while Ayub placed himself in the GBP 78500 segment.
Among the women players, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Yusra Amir, Iram Javed, and Jaweria Rauf did not find any takers.
The Indian Premier League owners buying stakes in the Hundred teams could be cited as a reason behind this.
Currently, four IPL franchises have stakes in the Hundred teams — Mumbai Indians in Oval Invincibles, Lucknow Super Giants in Manchester Originals, Sunrisers Hyderabad in Northern Superchargers and Delhi Capitals in Southern Brave.
Besides them, Sanjay Govil, an Indian-American entrepreneur has bought a 50% stake in Welsh Fire, while Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, a consortium of Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs, have purchased a 49% stake in London Spirit.
But apart from that, the modest form of Pakistan cricketers in white ball formats too might have played a part in them not attracting any Hundred bid.
Last year, players like Naseem and Shaheen Shah Afridi also had to deal with NOC related issues with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which eventually curtailed their presence in the Hundred.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
