Sunrisers Leeds’ decision to sign Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred 2026 auction had already stirred debate across Indian cricket circles. Many Indians have found it agitating to see an Indian owner pick a Pakistani player, something that has been a rare sight despite India’s massive influence across the globe. The franchise, owned by the Sun Group, which also runs Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, went hard for the mystery spinner and secured him for £190,000 (around ₹2.3 crore) after a brief bidding duel with Trent Rockets in London.
The signing has been the biggest talking point from the auction. It made Abrar the first Pakistan international to be picked by an Indian-owned Hundred franchise, something that had never happened before in any league linked to IPL ownership groups. Until now, teams connected to the IPL, whether in SA20, ILT20, MLC or CPL had stayed away from active Pakistani players due to the long-running political and cricketing tensions between the two countries.
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Naturally, questions followed. Sunrisers’ head coach Daniel Vettori has now shed light on what exactly went behind the scenes when the franchise made that call.
Sunrisers wanted Abrar because…
Speaking after the auction, Vettori revealed that Sunrisers’ original plan revolved around England leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Once Southern Brave snapped him up, the Leeds franchise quickly switched gears.
“Once we missed out on Adil Rashid, who was a priority early on, then we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner,” Vettori said. “There were four or five guys that we were looking at and Abrar was one of them. Very pleased to get him.”
The auction room moment itself was fairly intense. Trent Rockets opened the bidding at £100,000 before Sunrisers joined the race. The two teams went back and forth until the figure reached £190,000, at which point Rockets backed out and Abrar became Sunrisers’ headline spin signing of the day. Rockets instead settled on Danny Briggs to join them to partner Mitchell Santner for the new season.
No ‘shadow-ban’ talk inside the franchise
Before the auction, there had been speculation that IPL-linked teams might quietly avoid Pakistan players altogether. Vettori dismissed that theory outright.
“We just planned for everyone that was in the auction. There wasn’t a discussion about not picking Pakistan players — it was simply about who the best option was,” he said. The former New Zealand captain also revealed that he had taken feedback from Australian players, whom he works with as part of Australia’s coaching setup, after they faced Abrar earlier this year.
“It’s a bit of mystery. A lot of English players haven’t seen him before. The feedback from the Australian guys was that he’s tricky to face, has plenty of variations and the ability to strike in the powerplay as well as through the middle overs.”
Vettori believes that skill set could prove particularly valuable at Headingley, Sunrisers Leeds’ home ground. “Spinners have generally been the ones who succeed there. Having someone like Abrar could make a big difference for us.”
Abrar was the second Pakistani player sold in the auction after Birmingham Phoenix picked up Usman Tariq for £140,000. Several others, including Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub and Haris Rauf, went unsold, while Shaheen Shah Afridi withdrew from the auction shortly before proceedings began.
SRH coach reveals why Sunrisers bought Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed at the Hundred auction Inside Sport India.
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