A major controversy has erupted over the Sunrisers franchise after a surprise move in The Hundred auction. Sunrisers team owner Kavya Maran’s decision to sign a Pakistani cricketer has angered many Indian fans.
The Sunrisers Leeds franchise in The Hundred of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is co-owned by IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad and the tournament saw its first player auction on March 11. The incident led to Leeds being suspended on social media.
Kavya Maran’s bold auction move sparks massive controversy
In fact, during the men’s auction of The Hundred on Thursday, Kavya Maran’s team selected Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed. The Sunrisers franchise picked up Ahmed for a reported price of US$255,000. With the move, Abrar created history by becoming the first Pakistani cricketer to be signed by an Indian-owned team in the 100-ball tournament.
Also read: The Hundred Auction 2026: Complete list of sold and unsold players and entire teams
This decision immediately sparked anger among fans. He accused Kavya and the Sunrisers franchise of ignoring public sentiments given the recent relations between India and Pakistan. Social media platforms were filled with heated comments questioning why the Pakistan player was selected.
During the Hundred auction, Kavya Maran was seen sitting at the table with head coach Daniel Vettori while the teams were placing their bids. Even before the auction began, there was heavy discussion on whether Indian-owned teams would pick players from Pakistan in the Hundred.
Soon after the signing became public and sparked a flood of angry reactions on social media, a suspension notice was suddenly shown on the official X account of the Sunrisers Leeds franchise. No clear reason was given by the platform, but the message said the account was suspended for violating X’s rules. The franchise has not yet given any clarification on this.
Recently, media giant Sun TV Network completed the full acquisition of the Leeds team, formerly known as Northern Superchargers, in the 100-ball tournament.
The company purchased a 49% stake from the ECB, while Yorkshire County Cricket Club holds 51% of the shares. The same team also owns Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 but there is no Pakistani player in their roster.
Also read: Anti-national? IPL owners cheated India by signing Pakistani players, ft Kavya Maran
Before the auction, all the teams of the tournament had publicly stated that players would be selected only on the basis of performance, availability and team requirements. But the signing of Abrar Ahmed has now turned into a big controversy in India.
James Coles becomes the biggest surprise of The Hundred auction
Meanwhile, England’s young uncapped player James Coles became the biggest surprise of the men’s auction in The Hundred. The uncapped player became the most expensive player of the auction after he was bought by London Spirit for a huge sum of GBP 390,000.
Several teams were already interested in Coles in the auction. When his name came up during the auction, many franchises placed bids, but London Spirit decided to go ahead and spend a large portion of their budget to bring the young English talent to their team.
At the same time, some famous international players like Finn Allen, Ryan Rickelton, Matt Henry and Sherfane Rutherford were selected during the auction. However, some big foreign names were disappointed. Players like Sikandar Raza, Lungi Ngidi, Wanindu Hasaranga and Azmatullah Umarzai did not find takers in the auction.