The signing of Pakistan bowler Abrar Ahmed by Hundred franchise Sunrisers bucked pattern by Indian-owned groups.
Revealed On 17 Mar 2026
India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has alleged that the signing of Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed by an Indian-owned Hundred franchise in England “not directly contributes to the deaths of Indian troopers and civilians”.
Gamers from Pakistan haven’t featured within the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009 due to deep-seated diplomatic tensions between the 2 nations.
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There was hypothesis that Pakistan gamers concerned on the inaugural Hundred public sale in London can be topic to a “shadow ban”, with IPL-affiliated groups refusing to bid for them.
That didn’t come to cross, however Sunrisers Leeds — from the identical group that controls IPL crew Sunrisers Hyderabad — confronted a fierce social media backlash after final week clinching a deal for Abrar, paying 190,000 kilos ($252,000) for his companies.
Former India captain Gavaskar, 76, launched a blistering assault in a weekend column for the Indian newspaper Mid-Day.
“The charges that they pay to a Pakistani participant, who then pays earnings tax to his authorities, which buys arms and weapons, not directly contributes to the deaths of Indian troopers and civilians,” he wrote.
“Whether or not it’s an Indian entity or an abroad subsidiary of the entity that’s making the fee, if the proprietor is Indian then she or he is contributing to the Indian casualties.”
Three different Hundred franchises — MI London, Manchester Tremendous Giants, and Southern Courageous — are a minimum of partly owned by corporations that management IPL groups.
Usman Tariq, the one different Pakistani participant purchased in public sale, was picked up by American-backed Birmingham Phoenix.
The England and Wales Cricket Board final month issued a press release saying all eight franchises within the 100-ball-a-side competitors have been dedicated to choice based mostly solely on performances.
India and Pakistan, who have been engaged in a lethal battle in Might final yr, haven’t performed a bilateral sequence in additional than a decade and meet solely in world or regional tournaments.
“There’s nonetheless time to undo the mistaken, and hopefully, wiser counsels will prevail,” added Gavaskar, the primary batsman to attain 10,000 runs in Take a look at cricket.
