Rajeev Shukla, vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said the Indian cricket board had no say in Sunrisers Leeds acquiring Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred player auction on Thursday.
Sunrisers Leeds signed Abrar Ahmed for $255,000 at The Hundred auction in London, a move that raised eyebrows among fans. Many criticized Sunrisers Leeds and its co-owner Kavya Maran, while the team’s X account was temporarily suspended amid the backlash.
Sunrisers Leeds is owned by the Sun TV Network, which also owns Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20.
Rajeev Shukla on Sunrisers Leeds acquiring Abrar Ahmed
“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 IPL, there is no such player,” Rajeev Shukla told news agency. ANI.
Sunrisers Leeds head coach Daniel Vettori defended his team’s decision to buy Abrar Ahmed, saying that they were keen to get Abrar after losing out on Adil Rashid to Southern Brave.
“Once we missed out on Adil Rashid [to Southern Brave]who was a priority early on, 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,” he said after the auction on Thursday.
Abrar was one of only two Pakistani players who were signed at The Hundred auction. Usman Tariq was the other playersigned by Birmingham Phoenix for USD 187,600.
Pakistan players have been banned from playing in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009.
Apart from Sunrisers Leeds, MI London (Reliance Industries), Manchester Super Giants (RPSG Group), and Southern Brave (GMR Group), the other teams owned by IPL franchises are: Delhi Capitals (GMR Group), Lucknow Super Giants (RPSG Group), and Gujarat Titans (GMR Group).
Sunrisers Leeds are scheduled to begin The Hundred campaign with a game against MI London at the Kennington Oval on 21 July.
