Sunrisers Leeds' official Twitter account suspended after buying Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed

Sunrisers and Abrar Ahmed face backlash after picking up Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred men's player auction.

Updated on: Mar 13, 2026, 11:05:04 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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The Sunrisers franchise is witnessing severe backlash on social media after acquiring Pakistan mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the men's player auction on Thursday. Abrar became the first Pakistani player to be signed by an Indian-owned team in The Hundred, after the Sunrisers picked him up for USD 255,000. However, the move didn't go down well in India, as several fans took to social media to criticise Sunrisers and team owner Kavya Maran for signing a Pakistan player and going against national sentiment.

Kavya Maran and SunRisers face backlash after buying Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred auction. (X/Reuters)

At the Hundred men's player auction, owner Kavya Maran was seen sitting at the table alongside head coach Daniel Vettori. Ahead of the auction, there was heavy scrutiny over whether the four Indian-owned teams in the Hundred would bid for Pakistan players amid reports of a potential shadow ban.

Also Read: Sunrisers Leeds, Indian-owned franchise, sign Pakistan's Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred auction, face online backlash

Just hours after the franchise got Abrar on board, Sunrisers Leeds' official X (formerly Twitter) was suspended. There's no specific reason given by the platform for this, but when one tries to open the account, a pop-up shows the message "Account suspended." X suspends accounts which violate the X rules."

Sunrisers Leeds official X account suspended (X)

Sun TV, the Indian media conglomerate, had completed a full takeover of the Leeds franchise in the Hundred, formerly known as Northern Superchargers, last year, buying a 49 per cent stake from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the remaining 51 per cent from Yorkshire.

Earlier, all eight Hundred franchises had committed to selecting players solely on "performance, availability, and the needs of each team" before the auction.

Sunrisers previous record

Sunrisers' sister franchises Sunrisers Hyderabad (IPL) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SA20) have never previously signed an active Pakistan player. In the Hundred auction, the franchise won the bidding war against the Trent Rockets to acquire Abrar.

Sunrisers' coach Daniel Vettori revealed that he had sought advice from Australia's players who had Abrar at the start of the year, and it was then that the Australia assistant coach decided to pursue Abrar. He also stated that the franchise did not have any internal meetings to decide whether they will pick Pakistani players in the auction or not.

Abrar was the second Pakistan player to be sold in the men's auction after spinner Usman Tariq, who was bought for USD 187,000 by Birmingham Phoenix. Several Pakistan players have previously played for T20 teams owned by IPL franchises worldwide, but no international players have featured in the IPL since 2008 due to geopolitical tensions between the two countries.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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