The 2026 player auction for The Hundred in London sparked immediate controversy. Sunrisers Leeds, an Indian-owned franchise, acquired Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for USD 255,000.
Fans quickly slammed the move. They criticized Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and co-owner Kavya Maran for hiring a Pakistani player. Sun TV owns the Sunrisers franchise, which also operates Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s SA20 league.
Historically, Pakistani players have been barred from the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009. This ban followed the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Sunil Gavaskar’s strong take on the Abrar Ahmed controversy
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed strong disapproval in his Mid-day column. He noted that the backlash was expected.
“The furore created by the acquisition of a Pakistani player by the Indian owner of a franchise in The Hundred is hardly surprising. Ever since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, Indian franchise owners have simply ignored Pakistani players for the IPL.
“Although belated, the realization that the fees that they pay to a Pakistani player, who then pays income tax to his government, which buys arms and weapons, indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians, is making Indian entities refrain from even considering having Pakistani artistes and sportspersons,” the legendary India opener wrote in a column for Mid-day.
He added that with an Indian-owned team like Sunrisers Leeds acquiring a Pakistan player, the owner is “contributing to the casualties”.
He added that the owner should have “discouraged the purchase”, given the tense political relationship between India and Pakistan. “Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian, then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties.
“It’s as simple as that. Daniel Vettori, the coach of the team in The Hundred who hails from New Zealand, may not have understood this simple dynamic, and so may have wanted some Pakistani players on his team, but surely the owner should have understood the situation and discouraged the purchase. Is winning a tournament in a format that no other country plays in much more important than Indian lives?,” questioned the 76-year-old.
Will fans boycott Sunrisers Leeds?
Gavaskar warned that fans might boycott Sunrisers Leeds.
“It won’t be a surprise that for every game that this team plays, whether at home or away, there will be massive demonstrations by Indian fans protesting at this hard-to-believe buying. In fact, it won’t be a surprise that despite having some of the most attractive stroke makers in their team, the crowds may stay away and show their disapproval of the decision,” he wrote.
“There’s still time to undo the wrong, and hopefully wiser counsels will prevail,” the former Mumbai cricketer concluded.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla recently addressed the issue. He clarified that the board’s authority is limited to the IPL.
“Our domain is limited to the IPL. We have nothing to do with what they do in a league outside that. How can we prevent them from signing a player in a foreign league? That’s up to them. It’s purely up to the franchise that has bought a team outside India. If they are taking some player outside India in that league, we are least concerned because, in the IPL, there is no such player,” he had said.
Sunrisers Leeds will get their campaign in The Hundred underway with a match against MI London at the Kennington Oval on 21 July.
