Why did Sunrisers Leeds pick Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred 2026 Auction? Revealed

Sunrisers Leeds became the first Indian-owned franchise to buy a Pakistani player in The Hundred 2026 auction.

Abrar Ahmed is currently in the news after being bought in The Hundred 2026 auction by the Indian-owned franchise Sunrisers Leeds for €190,000, which is approximately ₹2.3 crore. This has sparked controversy, as the Pakistani spinner has often mocked Indians on social media.

Before the first-ever auction of The Hundred, there were rumours reported by some news agencies that the Indian-linked franchises would ignore Pakistani players in the auction. Later, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and The Hundred franchises came forward to deny these allegations.

Two Pakistani players were eventually sold in the auction: Usman Tariq was bought by Birmingham Phoenix, while Abrar Ahmed was picked by Sunrisers Leeds. The purchase of Abrar by Sunrisers has upset many Indian fans, and they have been expressing their anger toward the franchise.

Questions were also raised in the media to the Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori, who came forward to answer queries related to the decision to pick Abrar in the auction.

Why did Sunrisers Leeds pick Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred 2026 Auction? Daniel Vettori reveals

Speaking after the auction, Daniel Vettori revealed that their main plans were around the England leg-spinner Adil Rashid, but once Southern Brave snatched him, they had to change their plan and went for a few other players.

“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.”

Daniel Vettori then cleared all the rumours about teams discussing not going for Pakistani players, saying that they had planned for everyone available in the auction. He said:

“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 then went on to praise Abrar Ahmed and stated that he had taken feedback from the Australian players while being part of the Australian coaching staff. They told him that Abrar is tough to face. He said:

“It’s a bit of a 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.”

Daniel Vettori believes that Abrar Ahmed’s skill set will prove to be valuable at Headingley, Sunrisers’ home ground. He added:

“Spinners have generally been the ones who succeed there. Having someone like Abrar could make a big difference for us.”

The Hundred 2026 auction saw around 80 players fetching bids. The focus now turn towards the league, which will begin on July 21.

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.