Sunrisers Leeds, owned by IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, acquired leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed at the auction for the The 2026 Men's Hundred, despite reports that Indian-owned teams would not bid for Pakistani players.
Abrar Ahmed goes to Sunrisers Leeds
The 2026 edition of The Hundred is the first time the tournament has hosted auctions, with squads for previous editions decided by drafts. The Men’s Hundred auction is being held on March 12 at the Piccadilly Lights in Central London.
Four of the eight teams – Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, Southern Brave – have been acquired by IPL franchises. In February, reports emerged, suggesting that while Pakistan cricketers will be part of the auction (and the shortlist), the IPL franchise-owned teams would impose a “shadow ban” on them. Iin other words, not pick them due to their nationality, rather than their abilities.
The reports drew reactions from the cricket fraternity including from England limited-overs captain Harry Brook. Later that month, the ECB and all of the franchises in The Hundred issued a joint statement: “All eight teams commit to selection being based solely on cricketing performance, availability, and the needs of each team ... We want The Hundred to feature the very best talent from across the world, and will continue working proactively to ensure that the competition is a benchmark for inclusivity.”
Usman Tariq was the first Pakistan cricketer to be sold this time, but he was acquired by Birmingham Phoenix, who are not among the IPL franchise-owned teams. No IPL-owned teams bid for him.
However, when Abrar Ahmed's name was read out, Sunrisers Leeds began the bidding, and eventually secured him for £190,000 following a frantic bidding war with Trent Rockets.
From 84 T20 games, Abrar has 109 wickets while conceding 7.20 runs an over. In franchise cricket outside Pakistan, he has played for the Comilla Victorians in the BPL and the San Francisco Unicorns in the MLC. He played four games at the recently concluded T20 World Cup, taking six wickets while going at 7.60 an over.
Tariq and Abrar are so far the only Pakistan players picked up in the auction.
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