The “X” account of Sunrisers Leeds was suspended after the franchise acquired Pakistan cricketer Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred 2026 player auction in London on Thursday.
The Sunrisers franchise acquired the spinner for USD 255,000, becoming the first Indian-owned franchise to sign a Pakistan cricketer for The Hundred. Many fans in India were miffed by Sunrisers Leeds’ decision to sign a Pakistani cricketer and criticized the franchise and its co-owner Kavya Maran. Maran was seen sitting at the auction table along with Sunrisers Leeds head coach Daniel Vettori.
The development comes amid heavy scrutiny on whether the Indian-owned franchises in The Hundred would acquire Pakistan players amid reports of a shadow ban.
Sunrisers Leeds’
While searching for Sunrisers Leeds on X, the official page doesn’t show up. Instead, the following message pops up. “Account suspended.
Sun TV, which owns Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, completed a full takeover of the Leeds-based franchise, previously known as Northern Superchargers. They acquired a 49% stake from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the remaining 51% from Yorkshire.
Prior to The Hundred auction, each of the eight franchises had issued a joint statement, saying that the players would be selected only on the basis of “performance, availability, and the needs of each team”.
Fans were quick to slam the Sunrisers Leeds and the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Here are a few reactions:
It is to be noted that the other sister franchises of Sunrisers Leeds— Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (South Africa) have never acquired a Pakistan cricketer to date. Pakistan. Since 2009, Pakistani players have been banned from playing in the IPL in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
Even in international cricket, India and Pakistan only lock horns in ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments because of political conflicts between the two countries. Apart from Abrar, only one other Pakistani player was acquired at The Hundred auction, after Usman Tariq was acquired by Birmingham Phoenix for USD 187,000.
Apart from Sunrisers Leeds, the other Indian-owned franchises in The Hundred are MI London (Reliance Industries), Manchester Super Giants (RPSG Group) and Southern Brave (GMR Group).
The 2026 season of The Hundred is scheduled to begin on 21 July with a game between MI London and Sunrisers Leeds at the Kennington Oval. The final of the upcoming edition will be played on 16 August.
