The BCCI vice-president, Rajeev Shukla, clarified that the acquisition of Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed by franchise Sunrisers Leeds in the Hundred Auction is not under the control of the Indian cricket governing body. Shukla highlighted that this decision solely rests with the franchise as it is related to a league outside India. He stated, “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.”
The signing of Abrar by Sunrisers Leeds, owned by an Indian entity, faced criticism from fans who labeled the team and its owner as anti-national. Consequently, the team’s social media account was briefly suspended due to the backlash but has since been reinstated. Sun TV, the owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, acquired the franchise previously known as Northern Superchargers by purchasing a 49% stake from the ECB and the remaining 51% from Yorkshire for around 100 million pounds last year.
Despite earlier expectations that IPL franchise-owned teams would avoid bidding for Pakistan players, Abrar was selected in the auction. Notably, no Pakistan player has participated in the IPL since 2009, with IPL franchise owners generally refraining from signing cricketers from Pakistan. However, the ECB clarified that player selections in the auction would be based on cricketing performance, availability, and team requirements.
In the recent auction, Abrar was the second Pakistan player to be sold, with mystery spinner Usman Tariq also securing a deal with Birmingham Phoenix for 140,000 pounds. While some Pakistan players like Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf, and Shadab Khan remained unsold, the auction marked a departure from the trend of avoiding Pakistani cricketers in franchise leagues.
