The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla said the body cannot do anything about the Sunrisers franchise bringing in Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for the upcoming edition of the Hundred. The franchise owned by Sun TV is being slammed left, right and centre on social media for acquiring Abrar in the players’ auction, despite national sentiment and the mood in the country. Kavya Maran, the owner of the franchise, is also facing severe backlash and even the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of Sunrisers Leeds has been suspended.
The Sunrisers management is yet to respond to the backlash in India. However, on Friday afternoon, Shukla made it clear that it is the franchise that needs to take a call, and the BCCI cannot do anything, as overseas leagues do not fall under its jurisdiction.
“This is not at all concerned with the IPL. It’s an overseas league. This is not in our domain. We cannot do anything. They have to take a call,” Shukla told news agency ANI on Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Abrar, the World No.3 T20I bowler, was picked up by the franchise for 190,000 pounds (roughly USD 255,000). At the auction, head coach Daniel Vettori and owner Kavya Maran were spotted, and the duo placed the winning bid, thwarting the Trent Rockets’ challenge.
After picking up Abrar, Vettori revealed that the franchise went after the mystery spinner once Adil Rashid went to another team. He also stated that Usman Tariq was also a part of their plans, but once Abrar was brought on board, there was no need to go out for another spinner.
No shadow ban
Four teams in the Hundred have investment from Indian owners, and it came into effect in October 2025. Ever since the takeover, there have been reports claiming that there would be a shadow ban on Pakistani players and no team involving Indians would pick up Pakistani players.
However, Sunrisers put all these rumours to rest by buying Abrar. Only two Pakistan players were sold in the men’s Hundred auction – Abrar and Tariq. However, the franchise’s decision to pick up the spinner hasn’t gone down well in India, and several users are urging the management to let him go.
Earlier this year, even the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were criticised on social media for picking Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh pacer, in the squad. The backlash intensified after the killings of several Hindus in Bangladesh. The situation eventually settled after the BCCI stepped in and told KKR to release the pacer from the squad.
The aftermath saw Bangladesh refusing to travel to India for the T20 World Cup, and the team was eventually replaced by Scotland in the 20-team tournament, which the Men in Blue won.
