ISLAMABAD: Pakistan women’s cricket team captain Fatima Sana has become the first Pakistani cricketer to be selected for the women’s edition of The Hundred after being picked by Birmingham Phoenix in Thursday’s wildcard draft.

The Pakistan all-rounder secured the franchise’s fourth overseas slot, which became available after Cricket Australia withdrew Lucy Hamilton to manage player workload.

Sana will earn the tournament’s minimum salary of £15,000 (around Rs5.6 million), although her availability may be limited due to Pakistan’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka scheduled from July 23 to August 4.

Her selection came just hours after a strong all-round performance against South Africa at Edgbaston, where she scored an unbeaten 55 off 38 balls from number eight and also took 3 wickets for 16 runs in a narrow defeat.

With this selection, Fatima Sana becomes the third Pakistani player overall to feature in this year’s The Hundred. She joins Usman Tariq at Birmingham Phoenix, while spinner Abrar Ahmed has been drafted by Sunrisers Leeds.

Her inclusion has also eased earlier concerns over Pakistani players potentially being overlooked under the tournament’s evolving ownership structure involving private investors.

The wildcard draft also saw multiple international and domestic players added across men’s and women’s squads as franchises completed their rosters ahead of the new season.

The Hundred is scheduled to run from July 21 to August 16 this year, marking the first season since private investors took control of several franchises following stake sales last year.