Published: Mar 15, 2026, 12:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 15, 2026, 12:49 PM (IST)
Pakistani leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was bought by Indian-owned franchise Sunrisers Leeds in The Hundred 2026 auction for 190,000 pounds (approximately Rs 2.34 crore). The move sparked huge backlash in India, with fans heavily criticizing owner Kavya Maran and the team for signing a Pakistani player. Kavya Maran owns IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad and SA20 team Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
The signing led to massive trolling and outrage on social media, but now new reports suggest Abrar may not even play in the league.
As soon as Sunrisers Leeds announced Abrar Ahmed’s signing on their official X (Twitter) account, the news spread like wildfire. Many Indian cricket fans targeted Kavya Maran directly, sharing angry posts and memes.
Soon after, the team’s official X account got suspended. When users try to visit it now, a message pops up: “This account has been suspended for violating X’s rules.”
It’s widely believed the suspension happened because of massive reports and backlash from users upset over the signing.
Even though Sunrisers Leeds signed Abrar, there is big uncertainty about whether he will actually feature in the tournament. According to a report in The Times of India, Abrar is unlikely to get the required No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Cricket Board due to international commitments.
Pakistan is scheduled to tour the West Indies during The Hundred window. The tour includes two Test matches, running from July 21 to August 16, exactly overlapping with The Hundred season (July 21 to August 16).
Sources say PCB may refuse to grant NOC because of the clash. Although Abrar would have considered his commitments before registering, his chances of playing are now being seen as 50-50.
Sunrisers Leeds head coach Daniel Vettori explained the reason behind targeting Abrar after the auction.
“When we missed out on Adil Rashid (Southern Brave) then we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner. There were four or five guys that we were looking at, and Abrar was one of them. Very pleased to get him,” Vettori said.
“We came into the auction with every player available to us. As soon as this option was available there were a number of very good spinners from international teams that were an option, but Abrar was a priority,” he added.
“Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed – these players were all guys that were on our radar.“
The signing created controversy in India due to the ownership link with IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad. Fans were upset, and it led to debates about Pakistani players in leagues owned by Indian entities.
