Published: Mar 13, 2026, 06:20 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 13, 2026, 06:20 PM (IST)
BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla has made it clear that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has nothing to do with Sunrisers Leeds buying Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred 2026 auction.
Shukla explained that this is purely a decision by the franchise for an overseas league, not related to the IPL.
“Look, this is their own decision because this is not our league. This has not been done for the IPL; it has been done for a league outside India. It is entirely their own decision. There is some league in England for which they are doing this,” Shukla told IANS.
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The signing of Abrar by the Indian-owned Sunrisers Leeds (linked to Sunrisers Hyderabad owners) did not go down well with many Indian fans. Social media saw a lot of anger, with people calling the team and its owners “anti-national”. The heavy criticism led to the franchise’s official X (Twitter) account getting suspended for a short time. It has now been restored.
Last year, Sun TV (owners of IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad and SA20’s Sunrisers Eastern Cape) bought the franchise that was previously called Northern Superchargers. They took a 49% stake from the ECB and the remaining 51% from Yorkshire for around 100 million pounds.
Many expected IPL-linked teams in The Hundred to avoid Pakistani players, and early in Thursday’s auction it looked that way, until Abrar was picked.
No Pakistani player has played in the IPL since 2008 (last was in 2009 season). IPL franchise owners with teams in other global leagues have usually stayed away from signing players from Pakistan.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had already said last month that auction picks would be based only on:
Abrar Ahmed was the second Pakistani player sold on Thursday morning. Mystery spinner Usman Tariq was the first, bought by Birmingham Phoenix for 140,000 pounds. Phoenix has no IPL connection.
Big names like Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf, and Shadab Khan went unsold with no bids.
