No guarantee of Indian players' participation in 100-ball cricket, says ECB chief Tom Harrison

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Tom Harrison as admitted that he cannot provide any guarantee that players from India or West Indies will be available to take part in the Hundred, (a 100-ball game per side format). “I cannot commit to the involvement of India players. It is a political conversation as much as anything”, ESPNCricinfo quoted Harrison as saying. [caption id=“attachment_4470345” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] “It is a difficult conversation. It is not just the ECB and The Hundred that will be keen to get Indian players involved. Clearly, that’s a wider discussion.” The Indian players have been a part of county cricket before but if BCCI agrees to allow Indian players to take part in one such league, there are chances that players would ask the board to take part in other leagues as well. The participation of the West Indies players is not a given as it is possible that the Hundred clashes with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). “The Hundred won’t necessarily clash with the CPL. We have ongoing discussions with the CPL and will work together on that. But we do have to make sure the Blast fits in the right way leading into The Hundred and that our Test summer is scheduled correctly”. “I think players will want to play in The Hundred. We’ll demonstrate an ambition behind this that is very pure and can enhance players’ skills under pressure. Hundred-ball cricket will deliver more of those key moments when players have to deliver under serious pressure. We’ll make it attractive to players to come and play.” Earlier, Windies swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle had announced that after his retirement from the ODI format after the World Cup, he would love to take part in ECB’s Hundred. When asked about Gayle’s willingness to play in the format, the chief of ECB said, “We would love to have Chris involved. I am keen to have a conversation and see what he thinks and to hear his views.”