'We Cannot Do Anything': BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla Breaks Silence On Sunrisers Leeds' Signing Pakistan's Abrar Ahmed In The Hundred 2026 Auction

· Free Press Journal

Sunrisers are facing severe backlash following the franchise's decision to sign Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred auction on Thursday. The Pakistan spinner was picked for £190,000 (₹2.3 crore) by Sunrisers Leeds. Ahmed is the first Pakistan player to be signed by an Indian-owned team in the tournament.

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Amid the uproar, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla on Friday said the Board cannot intervene as the signing is related to a foreign league and the franchise will have to take a call.

"It is not in our domain (IPL), they have done it for some foreign league. They will have to take a call; we cannot do anything," Shukla told ANI.

The signing has sparked backlash on social media against Sunrisers Leeds co-owner Kavya Maran, with critics pointing to alleged remarks by the 27-year-old spinner mocking the Indian Air Force and Army during the period surrounding the events of Operation Sindoor in May last year.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the Indian media conglomerate Sun TV completed a full takeover of the franchise, formerly known as Northern Superchargers, last year. The group bought a 49 per cent stake from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the remaining 51 per cent from Yorkshire for around £100 million. Stakes in three other Hundred teams were also sold to investors who own IPL franchises.

Sunrisers, whose sister franchises Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20, have never previously signed an active Pakistan player. The Leeds-based side won a bidding war with Trent Rockets to secure Abrar shortly before the lunch break.

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Abrar was the second Pakistan player sold in the auction after Usman Tariq, who was picked up by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000 (US$187,000). Trent Rockets and Phoenix are co-owned by their host counties, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire, respectively, along with American investor groups.

Pakistan players have featured for several global T20 teams owned or part-owned by IPL franchises, but no active Pakistan international has played in the IPL since 2008 due to the long-standing geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.

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