Indian-owned Sunrisers Leeds face THIS huge setback after Abrar Ahmed’s signing in The Hundred 2026; Know here

Abrar Ahmed was the only Pakistan player picked by an Indian franchise in The Hundred 2026 auction

At The Hundred 2026 players’ auction on Thursday, Sunrisers Leeds, supported by the Sunrisers group, which owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), welcomed Abrar Ahmed into the fold for the upcoming edition of The Hundred.

Abrar Ahmed was bought by Sunrisers Leeds for £190,000, and was the only Pakistan player picked by an Indian franchise in The Hundred 2026 auction. Usman Tariq also found the bid, but he was picked by Birmingham Phoenix, a non-IPL team, for £140,000 (INR 1.72 crore).

Earlier, it was reported that the England teams, owned by Indian owners, might attempt not to bid for Pakistani cricket players. However, ECB quashed such reports and to add to it, Sunrisers Leeds added Abrar in their side.

However, their decision to include Pakistani spinner Abrar came under severe scrutiny on social media. The Kayva Maran-owned franchise faced a lot of criticism over picking a player, who often mocks India.

Sunrisers Leeds’ Twitter account suspended after Abrar Ahmed’s signing in The Hundred 2026 auction

Abrar’s earlier post about sipping tea was seen as anti-Indian. He has also mocked the Indian team and fans repeatedly by posting instigating photos with a teacup on his social media. The signing of Pakistan player led to a massive outrage on social media, resulting in Sunrisers Leeds Twitter account getting suspended, which comes as a setback for franchise.

Meanwhile, Sunrisers’ head coach Daniel Vettori talked about why they acquired Abrar. He said:

“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.”

“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. 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.”

The Hundred 2026 Men’s competition will begin on July 21, 2026. It remains to be seen how Abrar performs for his new franchise in The Hundred 2026.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.