New Delhi, March 13: The auction for ‘The Hundred’, organized by the ECB, took place on March 12. Sunrisers Leeds, owned by the Indian Sun Group, acquired Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed. However, this purchase may backfire on Sunrisers Leeds. Indian cricket fans are labeling this move as unpatriotic.
Sunrisers Leeds is affiliated with the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad. Consequently, fans on social media are threatening to boycott Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Critics argue that acquiring a player who allegedly mocked the Indian Army in a 2025 social media post prioritizes the team owners’ profit motives over national sentiments. Notably, Sunrisers Leeds surprised everyone by signing Abrar after outbidding Trent Rockets.
Before the auction, it was anticipated that the four Indian-owned teams in The Hundred—Sunrisers Leeds, MI London, Manchester Super Giants, and Southern Brave—would avoid bidding for Pakistani players.
However, the ECB warned all eight teams before the auction that not signing players based on nationality would violate the UK’s anti-discrimination laws.
Indian-owned teams typically do not sign Pakistani players in other leagues like SA20 and ILT20.
Sunrisers Leeds made the strategic decision to acquire Abrar under the leadership of head coach Daniel Vettori.
Franchise officials stated that the selection was based entirely on cricketing ability and the team’s needs. While concerns about a shadow ban have been alleviated with this signing, they now face the challenge of managing a PR crisis in their primary commercial market in India.
Arpit Soni has had a passion for journalism since the beginning. Now he has turned this hobby into his profession. Arpit, who is a resident of Udaipur, enjoys editing and writing news related to journalism. He has worked as a Senior Content Producer in several important roles at Bhaskar, Patrika, Pratahkal, Punjab Kesari, and Times. Arpit completed his schooling in Udaipur and Jaipur. He has been working in the media industry for more than 10 years, and his journey is still continuing. ✍️📚
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