Indian-Owned Sunrisers Leeds Sign Pakistan Spinner Abrar Ahmed, Breaking IPL-Linked Teams' Boycott

Sunrisers Leeds bought Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 in the inaugural men’s Hundred auction in London, a purchase widely reported as making him the first Pakistani international signed by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament.

“Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was bought by Sunrisers Leeds for 190,000 pounds ($254,000) in the men’s auction for the Hundred, despite concerns that Indian-owned teams might avoid signing cricketers from Pakistan”

Al Jazeera

Multiple outlets noted the £190,000 fee and described the signing as a landmark: Al Jazeera reported the buy at “190,000 pounds ($254,000)”, The Times of India said the purchase “put[] an end to speculation that teams linked to the Indian Premier League ( IPL) might avoid signing Pakistani players,” IANS LIVE explicitly called him “the first Pakistani international signed by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament,” and ESPN described him as “the first Pakistan player signed by an Indian-owned team in the tournament.”

Al Jazeera

The signing came after widespread media reports that several IPL-linked franchises would avoid Pakistani players, a suggestion critics described as a potential unofficial “shadow ban.”

Outlets including Al Jazeera and Flashscore recounted February reports saying Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds would not consider signing cricketers from Pakistan, while the ECB and all eight franchises publicly stressed that nationality must not be a basis for exclusion.

BBC

Several reports also reiterated the ECB’s pre-auction guidance that selections should be based on “cricketing performance, availability, and the needs of each team.”

Auction details underline the competitive bidding: Sunrisers opened the bidding for Abrar at £130,000 before raising it to beat Trent Rockets, and he entered the sale with a base price of £75,000.

“Indian-owned SunRisers Leeds roped in Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 (approx”

Circle Of Cricket

Reports show Abrar was the second Pakistan player sold that morning after Usman Tariq was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000, while several notable Pakistan names including Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf went unsold.

Outlets also highlighted Abrar’s recent T20 credentials—he has played 38 Twenty20s for Pakistan since his 2024 debut and taken 52 wickets with an economy rate of 6.67—details underscoring the cricketing rationale behind his purchase.

The deal also highlights the wider commercial context: Sun TV completed its takeover of the franchise (previously Northern Superchargers) after buying a 49% stake from the ECB and 51% from Yorkshire for about £100 million, and Sun TV already runs Sunrisers Hyderabad (IPL) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SA20).

Media coverage pointed out that stakes in multiple Hundred teams were sold to investors with IPL links, renewing scrutiny over whether those owners would mirror IPL-era exclusions of Pakistani players—no Pakistani has featured in the IPL since 2009, a fact cited across reports.

Crictoday

Observers cast the move as politically and symbolically significant: several outlets framed Abrar’s sale as breaking the IPL-linked teams’ de facto boycott and as a cricket-first decision by Sunrisers Leeds.

“Sunrisers Leeds successfully bought mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 (US$255,000) on the morning of the inaugural men's Hundred auction in London, making him the first Pakistan player signed by an Indian-owned team in the tournament”

ESPN

Reporting noted that Abrar joins a Sunrisers Leeds squad captained by Harry Brook and coached by Daniel Vettori, and that the Hundred’s 2026 edition runs from July 21 to August 16—details that place the signing in the immediate sporting build-up to the tournament.

ESPN

While some Pakistan players remained unsold, Abrar and Usman Tariq’s purchases suggest at least a partial thaw in the pattern of Pakistan players being avoided by IPL-linked owners.