Sunrisers Leeds paid 190,000 pounds for Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred 2026 auction.
The Sunrisers Leeds, co-owned by Kavya Maran, signed Abrar for £190,000 (about INR 2.3 crore). However, the choice sparked much outrage on social media, with concerns raised about SRL's decision to select a Pakistani player despite the events in Pahalgam last year.
Gavaskar stated that the extreme reactions by Indian fans were expected, reminding everyone of the history between India and Pakistan. Pakistani cricketers were barred from competing in the Indian Premier League following the horrific 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Eleven years later, the horrific 2019 Pulwama incident served as a reminder of why Indian cricket has avoided Pakistan. Finally, Gavaskar used the 2025 Pahalgam terror assault to demonstrate that funding a Pakistani cricketer indirectly contributes to Indian casualties.
“The furore created by the acquisition of a Pakistani player by the Indian owner of a franchise in The Hundred is hardly surprising. Ever since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, Indian franchise owners have simply ignored Pakistani players for the IPL. Although belated, the realization that the fees that they pay to a Pakistani player, who then pays income tax to his government, which buys arms and weapons, indirectly contribute to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians, is making Indian entities refrain from even considering having Pakistani artists and sportspersons,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.
Even recently, the BCCI had instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise to release Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman after severe atrocities were committed on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
If such a judgment could be made, the Sunrisers Hyderabad tragedy would further confirm the notion that Indian cricket has no space for violence or deaths of its own residents.
Their X handle was deactivated hours after the purchase, only to be reactivated after the outpouring of outrage died down.
It became even more shocking when coach Daniel Vettori stated that another Pakistan spinner, Usman Tariq, was also on their radar. Gavaskar was particularly offended by the franchise's lack of sensitivity.
“Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian, then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties. It’s as simple as that. Daniel Vettori, the coach of the team in The Hundred who hails from New Zealand, may not understand this simple dynamic, and so may have wanted some Pakistani players on his team, but surely the owner should have had an understanding of the situation and discouraged the purchase. Is winning a tournament in a format that no other country plays in much more important than Indian lives?” Gavaskar pointed out.
It remains to be seen what Sunrisers Leeds’ reaction to the backlash will be, as there have been calls for a boycott of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming IPL 2026 tournament as well.
(Mid-day inputs)