SunRisers Leeds bought Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred 2026 auction on Thursday, March 12. The SunRisers franchise, owned by the Sun Group – an Indian conglomerate led by Kalanithi Maran – went all out for the Pakistan spinner, eventually securing him for £190,000 (approx. Rs 2.34 crore). Kavya Maran, who serves as a key figure and CEO of the franchise, was present at the auction table.
Kavya, along with head coach Daniel Vettori, was at the auction table at Piccadilly Lights in London on Thursday as SunRisers Leeds outbid Trent Rockets to acquire Abrar Ahmed. SunRisers Leeds will be led by England’s T20I captain, Harry Brook.
It was the first time in many years that a team with ownership links to the Indian Premier League (IPL) had signed a Pakistan cricketer.
Four of The Hundred’s eight franchises – Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and SunRisers Leeds – are now at least partially owned by companies that control IPL teams.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Usman Tariq, the mystery spinner with a pause who created a flutter in the T20 World Cup 2026, was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000.
Having made his debut for Pakistan in 2022, Abrar Ahmed was initially labelled a Test specialist. However, since making his T20I debut in 2024, Abrar has taken 52 wickets in 38 matches, boasting a sensational average of 17.36 and an excellent economy rate of 6.67. He also picked up six wickets in four matches during Pakistan’s disappointing campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last month.
HOW MANY PAK PLAYERS IN THE HUNDRED AUCTION?
As many as 14 Pakistan players were shortlisted for the Hundred 2026 auction. On the eve of the auction, ODI captain Shaheen Afridi withdrew, but 13 players were set to go under the hammer.
Big Bash League star Haris Rauf, who was not picked for the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, went unsold along with all-rounder Saim Ayub.
WERE INDIAN OWNERS NOT BUYING PAK PLAYERS?
The Hundred faced a defining test of its integrity following a massive shift in ownership. For the first time, the competition entered a “private era” after the ECB sold stakes in its franchises last year – primarily to Indian Premier League (IPL) owners – sparking widespread fears that Pakistan’s top cricketers would be systematically excluded from the league.
The controversy stems from the 2025 sale of four key franchises to Indian conglomerates: Sunrisers Leeds (Sunrisers Hyderabad), MI London (Mumbai Indians), Manchester Super Giants (Lucknow Super Giants), and Southern Brave (GMR/Delhi Capitals).
The anxiety among players and fans was rooted in a consistent global pattern. Since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Pakistanis have been barred from the IPL. As those same owners expanded into South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s ILT20, the unwritten rule followed; not a single Pakistan player has ever been signed by an IPL-owned franchise in those leagues.
Before the 2026 auction, reports from the BBC suggested a similar shadow-ban was imminent in England, with a senior official allegedly warning agents that interest in Pakistanis would be limited to the four non-IPL-linked teams. This prompted an immediate intervention from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which issued a formal warning to all owners that selection must be based purely on merit, citing the UK’s strict anti-discrimination laws.
In a significant move to silence the critics, Sunrisers Leeds backed these words with action by signing Abrar Ahmed. The signing is being viewed as a landmark moment, potentially breaking the IPL blockade that has dictated global franchise politics for years.
While the women’s auction earlier this week saw world No. 1 bowler Sadia Iqbal go unsold – raising fresh questions – the men’s draft suggests that the ECB’s firm stance may have successfully protected the tournament’s diversity in its first year of private ownership.
