Follow UsIn about 24 hours, the third edition of The Hundred 2025 Men’s competition will begin, as London Spirit will take on Oval Invincibles at Lord’s. All eyes will be on Kane Williamson and David Warner, who will be leading the Spirit side, and will be eyeing to showcase their skills ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.
Who are some of the other IPL veterans who can use The Hundred 2025 Men’s competition to get back to the IPL level?
Kane Williamson is no stranger to the IPL, with over 2,000 runs, averaging 35.46 in the competition across 79 appearances. However, the right-hander’s last appearance at the IPL level came back in 2024, when he made 26 off 22 against Punjab Kings.
Since then, he hasn’t been part of the IPL circuit after going unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction. With a mini-auction around the corner, the New Zealand batter could use The Hundred 2025 to showcase his batting prowess.
Like Williamson, David Warner will also be out in the field against Oval Invincibles, and he’s one of the all-time IPL greats. However, the left-hander went unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction after a disastrous IPL 2024.
But since then, Warner has showcased his incredible batting display, smashing 405 runs in the Big Bash League 2024/25, averaging 45.00, and scoring 97 runs at a strike rate of 156.45. He even continued that impressive run with a 368-run season in PSL 2025.
So, on flatter tracks in England, Warner can make an impression.
Steve Smith will make his The Hundred debut after pulling out of the competition previously. Like Warner and Williamson, Smith wasn’t part of IPL across the last four editions, when he appeared for Delhi Capitals (DC).
In that edition, the Australian batter could only score 152 runs, striking at 112.59, including a high score of 39. Since then, he hasn’t played many T20 competitions apart from BBL and MLC. In BBL’s last edition, Smith scored 173 runs, a superior strike rate of 173.00. If he has a good The Hundred season, he might return at the IPL level.