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BCCI breaks silence amid Sunrisers Leeds' decision to sign Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed
The signing of Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed by Sunrisers Leeds in the 2026 player auction of The Hundred has sparked intense uproar in India. Sunrisers Leeds secured Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 during the inaugural men’s auction held in London on Thursday. The deal was eye-catching because Abrar became the first Pakistani cricketer to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise in The Hundred.
The Leeds-based franchise, owned by India’s Sun Group and linked to the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad, outbid rivals in a bidding war to secure the leg-spinner. Amid the uproar, BCCI secretary Rajeev Shukla said that the board can't take any decision because foreign leagues don't fall under its jurisdiction. Indian fans, on the other hand, slammed the franchise for signing a Pakistan player despite long-standing political tensions between the two countries.
“Our domain is limited to the IPL. We have nothing to do with what they do in a league outside that. How can we interfere with them signing a player in a foreign league. This is not at all concerned with the IPL. It's an overseas league. This is not in our domain. We cannot do anything. They have to take a call. It’s purely upto the franchise who have 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,” Shukla told ANI on Friday.
The controversy escalated further when the official X account of Sunrisers Leeds was suddenly suspended shortly after the signing announcement. There was no clarification as to why the account was suspended. Surprisingly, other Pakistani players like Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan went unsold.
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