London, Mar 13: Sunrisers Leeds, owned by Chennai-based media conglomerate Sun Group, on Thursday bought mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed during the Hundred player auction, making him the first Pakistan player to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament.
The Sunrisers gave GBP 190000 (Rs 2.34 crore approximately) to acquire the services of Ahmed after a bidding war with Trent Rockets.
His signing also put to rest the talks that Indian Hundred owners will not bid for Pakistan players, as the franchises from the IPL have not engaged them since 2009 owing to strained diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring nations.
The Sun Group, which also owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, completed a full takeover of erstwhile Northern Superchargers last year, buying a 49% stake from the ECB and the remaining 51% from county club Yorkshire for around GBP 100 million. The Sunrisers CEO Kavya Maran attended the auction and did the paddle-raising duty.
They also own Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 but don’t have a Pakistan player in their roster.
Abrar was the second Pakistan player sold during the auction after another mystery spinner Usman Tariq was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for GBP 140,000 (Rs 1.72 crore approximately).
However, Phoenix have no IPL connection. Pakistan Pacer Harris Rauf and off-spin all-rounder Saim Ayub were earlier went unsold.
The League will run from July 21 to August 16. Abrar’s signing could well be seen as a small but significant moment in the evolving dynamics of franchise cricket, where commercial interests and the global nature of the sport increasingly blur traditional boundaries. While political tensions have long prevented Pakistan players from featuring in the IPL or in teams owned by Indian entities, the Hundred operates in a different ecosystem, governed by the ECB and involving investors from multiple countries.
In that sense, the move reflects the gradual shift of cricket toward a truly international franchise marketplace where talent, skill and match-winning ability often take precedence over geopolitics.