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Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed was signed by Sunrisers Leeds for £190,000 at The Hundred 2026 auction, marking a rare IPL-linked franchise signing a Pakistani player.
Kaviya Maran’s Sunrisers signed Pakistan spinner Abarar Ahmed for The Hundred (PTI and Instagram)
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed was signed by Sunrisers Leeds for £190,000 at The Hundred 2026 player auction on Thursday, disproving earlier speculations that franchises connected to the Indian Premier League would avoid signing Pakistani players.
The Sunrisers franchise, owned by the Indian conglomerate Sun Group, headed by Kalanithi Maran, showed significant interest in Abrar and eventually secured his services for £190,000 (roughly ₹2.34 crore).
Bidding war between Sunrisers Leeds and Trent Rockets 🔥Abrar Ahmad sold at £190,000 to Sunrisers Leeds within the HUNDRED auction 🧡 pic.twitter.com/4sQclrFlDf
— Usman (@jamilmusman_) March 12, 2026
The bidding took place at the long-lasting Piccadilly Lights, where Kaviya Maran’s Sunrisers Leeds outbid Trent Rockets to accumulate the Pakistani spinner.
Abrar’s signing is noteworthy because it marks the primary time in several years that a franchise linked to the IPL ecosystem has recruited a Pakistani cricketer in an overseas league auction.
Response to Sunrisers Leeds buying Abrar Ahmed was not kind. Fans took to social media to indicate the Pakistan cricketer’s past antics, mocking India and military personnel.
Sunrisers-owned Leeds team within the hundred league picking Abrar Ahmed is peak hypocrisyAll that chest thumping about values and cultures vanishes the moment the auction hammer drops pic.twitter.com/vQFWSWi9uw
— Ash (@Ashsay_) March 12, 2026
Pakistanis are laughing at Indians & India for getting Abrar Ahmed in auction. Thank You Sunrisers!!— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) March 12, 2026
Abrar Ahmed who continually mocks India and posts stories against India has been bought by SRH in The Hundred leagueIf Knight Riders franchise had done the identical the outrage would have been on a very different level pic.twitter.com/utWj139mBw— Ashish Shrivastava (@ashishayush1177) March 12, 2026
Who Is Abrar Ahmed?
Ahmed, 27, is a leg-spinner who has played 46 Tests, 28 ODIs, and 52 T20Is for Pakistan. He was a part of the Pakistan team throughout the recent 2026 T20 World Cup, where he bowled a powerful spell of three/23 within the last Super Eight stage game against Sri Lanka.
This shall be Ahmed’s first time playing in a T20 league in Europe, having previously featured only within the Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League, and Major League Cricket (MLC). His participation, nevertheless, is subject to clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Sunrisers Leeds was formerly often known as the Northern Superchargers and was taken over by the Indian company this 12 months.
Earlier within the day, Usman Tariq, the mystery spinner known for his distinctive pause within the bowling motion and memorable performances on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000, becoming the primary Pakistani player to be sold at this 12 months’s auction.
March 12, 2026, 19:51 IST
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