One signing. One auction. One week of chaos that has consumed cricket's biggest talking points — and it still is not over.
On March 12, 2026, Sunrisers Leeds — the Headingley-based Hundred franchise owned by India's Sun Group, the same conglomerate that runs Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL — paid £190,000 (approximately ₹2.34 crore) for Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed at the inaugural Men's Hundred auction in London. Six days later, cricket's biggest off-field story is still developing — with a legendary Indian cricketer calling the signing "blood money," a suspended and then restored X account, an Indian board washing its hands of the issue, a Pakistani-origin cricketer fighting back, and a very real question over whether Abrar will even set foot on English soil this summer.
Here is the complete story — from the very beginning to where things stand right now.
📅 How It Started — The Auction That Broke The "Shadow Ban"
Before The Hundred 2026 men's auction on March 12, cricket's worst-kept secret was the existence of an unofficial "shadow ban" — a widespread expectation that IPL-affiliated franchises in The Hundred would simply not bid for Pakistan players, regardless of the ECB's publicly stated policy that selection must be based solely on "performance, availability and the needs of each team."
The ECB had made this policy crystal clear before the auction. The eight franchises had committed to it in writing. And yet — everyone in cricket expected the four Indian-owned franchises (MI London, Manchester Super Giants, Sunrisers Leeds, Southern Brave) to quietly ignore Pakistan players when the bidding started.
Sunrisers Leeds broke that expectation entirely. Head coach Daniel Vettori — the former New Zealand captain and current Australia assistant coach — had already done his homework. After missing out on Adil Rashid to Southern Brave, and failing to land England's James Coles to London Spirit, Vettori had a list of spin options: Rishad Hossain, Usman Tariq, and Abrar Ahmed. When Trent Rockets began bidding on Abrar, Sunrisers Leeds entered the war at £160,000 and won at £190,000 — making Abrar the first Pakistani cricketer to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise in any league.
Vettori was unambiguous about the decision: "We just planned for everyone in the auction. There wasn't a discussion about not picking Pakistan players — it was just who was the best option. We sought the advice of Australia's players who had faced Abrar at the start of the year. He is unique in the amount of variations he has, and a lot of domestic players won't have seen him before."
The signing went live. The internet exploded.
💥 The Backlash — X Account Suspended, Kavya Maran Trolled
Within minutes of Sunrisers Leeds announcing Abrar Ahmed's signing on their official X account, Indian fans reacted with extraordinary intensity. Hashtags including #ShameOnSRH and #BoycottSunrisers trended across India. Thousands of angry posts targeted Kavya Maran — the CEO of Sun Group and the face of the Sunrisers franchise globally. The criticism referenced Abrar's past social media activity: a "Fantastic Tea" Instagram post following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 — which many Indian fans interpreted as a reference to IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's famous remark during his 2019 captivity.
The mass-reporting campaign was swift and effective. Within hours of the signing announcement, Sunrisers Leeds' official X account was suspended. No formal reason was given by X. The account was later restored — but only after the damage to the franchise's social media presence had already been done. The episode highlighted the extraordinary power of coordinated social media campaigns in cricket's increasingly politicised landscape.
Kavya Maran herself has not publicly commented on the signing or the backlash. Sunrisers Leeds issued no statement in response to the criticism. The franchise has remained silent, letting Vettori's post-auction interview speak for itself.
🗣️ Gavaskar Goes Nuclear — "Blood Money"
On March 15, Sunil Gavaskar — the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs, arguably India's greatest ever cricketer, and still one of the most influential voices in the game at 76 — published a column in the Indian newspaper Mid-Day that detonated like a grenade in the middle of the controversy.
Gavaskar argued that any payment made to a Pakistani player — regardless of which country the franchise is registered in — ultimately flows back to the Pakistani government as income tax. And that money, he wrote, is used to fund arms and weapons. His conclusion: that paying Abrar Ahmed £190,000 "indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians."
He directly questioned Kavya Maran's judgment: "Daniel Vettori, the coach of the team in The Hundred who hails from New Zealand, may not understand this simple dynamic — 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 much more important than Indian lives?"
He also warned of consequences for SRH in the IPL: "It won't be a surprise that for every game that this team plays, whether at home or away, there will be massive demonstrations by Indian fans protesting at this hard-to-believe buying. Despite having some of the most attractive stroke makers in their team, the crowds may stay away."
Gavaskar's column electrified the debate. Supporters called it a courageous stand on national security. Critics called it an overreach that politicises cricket beyond any reasonable boundary.
🏏 Azeem Rafiq Hits Back at Gavaskar
The most direct response to Gavaskar came from an unexpected source. Azeem Rafiq — the Pakistani-origin cricketer who exposed institutionalised racism at Yorkshire Cricket Club in one of English cricket's most significant ever scandals — publicly lashed out at Gavaskar's remarks on March 17, calling them "dangerous" and "irresponsible."
Rafiq, who grew up in Yorkshire and represented England at Under-19 level, argued that Gavaskar's logic — if applied consistently — would mean no Pakistani player could ever participate in any sport anywhere in the world, since any income earned eventually contributes to a government that Gavaskar considers hostile. He also pointed out that by Gavaskar's own logic, England's decision to play Test cricket against Pakistan — which generates enormous broadcast revenue and taxes for Pakistan — would also be "contributing to Indian casualties."
Rafiq's intervention drew significant support from British cricket commentators and human rights organisations — and pushback from Indian fans who felt his comparison was false and his intervention uninvited. The debate has now crossed from cricket into broader geopolitical territory.
📋 BCCI's Position — "Not Our Domain"
BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla issued the board's clearest possible statement on the matter: "Our domain is limited to IPL. We are not concerned by what is happening in other leagues. It is clearly up to the franchise that has bought a team outside India if they are taking some player somewhere outside India. We are least concerned about it. In IPL, there is no such player."
The BCCI's position is legally and jurisdictionally correct — The Hundred is run by the ECB in England, and the BCCI has no authority over what franchises do outside the IPL. But the statement has done little to reduce pressure on Sunrisers Leeds. If anything, by making clear that the BCCI will not intervene and will not force Sunrisers Leeds to release Abrar Ahmed, Shukla has confirmed that the franchise will have to manage the consequences of its decision entirely alone.
⚠️ The Biggest Twist — Will Abrar Even Play?
Here is the most ironic development in the entire story: after all the controversy, all the backlash, all the social media drama — Abrar Ahmed may not even play a single match for Sunrisers Leeds.
The Hundred 2026 runs from July 21 to August 16. Pakistan's tour of the West Indies — which includes two Test matches as part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle — runs from July 15 to August 7. The two schedules overlap almost entirely.
The PCB's NOC (No Objection Certificate) rules have become significantly stricter since 2025, when chairman Mohsin Naqvi introduced a performance-based system that links NOC approval to a player's international form and national team commitments. Abrar Ahmed, as a member of Pakistan's Test squad during a WTC window, is unlikely to be granted an NOC for a franchise tournament — regardless of how much Sunrisers Leeds paid for him at auction.
Sources within the PCB suggest the probability of Abrar receiving an NOC is currently 50-50 at best. His representatives are hopeful — and Abrar is said to have a good personal relationship with the PCB leadership — but the clash with international commitments is a genuine barrier. Sunrisers Leeds were aware of this risk when they signed him. They are now waiting, like everyone else, for a PCB decision that may not come until closer to July.
The ultimate irony: if the PCB refuses the NOC, Abrar stays in the West Indies playing Test cricket for Pakistan — and the entire controversy, Gavaskar's column, the X suspension, the Kavya Maran backlash — will have been over a player who never bowled a single ball in a Hundred match.
📊 Where Things Stand Today — March 18, 2026
| Issue | Status |
|---|---|
| Abrar Ahmed signed by Sunrisers Leeds | ✅ Confirmed — £190,000 |
| Sunrisers Leeds X account | ✅ Restored after temporary suspension |
| Kavya Maran response | ❌ No public comment yet |
| BCCI intervention | ❌ Refused — "Not our domain" |
| Gavaskar's column | ⚠️ Published — widely debated |
| PCB NOC for Abrar | ⏳ Pending — 50-50 chance |
| Abrar playing in The Hundred | ⚠️ Uncertain — schedule clash with PAK vs WI Tests |
| The Hundred 2026 start date | 📅 July 21, 2026 |
🏏 Our Take
Cricket has always reflected the political realities of the countries it is played in — and this controversy is no different. The Abrar Ahmed signing is not a simple cricket story. It sits at the intersection of Indian nationalism, Pakistan-India diplomatic tensions, the commercialisation of cricket through cross-border franchise ownership, and the ECB's anti-discrimination obligations under English law.
Gavaskar's argument — that paying a Pakistani player "blood money" — has genuine emotional resonance for Indian fans given the events of May 2025. But it also raises uncomfortable questions: if Indian-owned franchises refuse to sign Pakistani players in England because of Indian government policy, are they not undermining the very principle of international cricket as a force for diplomacy and connection?
Daniel Vettori picked Abrar Ahmed because he thought he was the best available spinner for his team. That is what sport is supposed to be about. Whether Abrar gets to prove him right — or whether the PCB, the politics, and the calendar deny him even that chance — we will find out in July.
What do you think — was Sunrisers Leeds right to sign Abrar Ahmed? Drop your view in the comments! 🏏🔥
Stay with The Yorker Crew for all updates on this story as the PCB makes its NOC decision ahead of The Hundred 2026. Also check out our complete cricket news from March 14 where we first broke this story, and our guide to The Hundred 2026 auction results.
#AbrarAhmed #SunrisersLeeds #TheHundred2026 #Gavaskar #KavyaMaran #PCB #BCCI #PakistanCricket #CricketNews #TheYorkerCrew
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