A huge controversy has exploded around the Sunrisers franchise after a surprising move in The Hundred auction. The Sunrisers team owner Kavya Maran’s decision to sign a Pakistan cricketer has sparked massive anger among many Indian fans.
The Sunrisers Leeds franchise is co-owned by the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad in The Hundred of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and on March 11, the tournament witnessed its first-ever player auction. This event led to Leeds’ suspension on social media.
Kavya Maran’s bold auction move triggers massive controversy
Actually, Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed was picked by Kavya Maran’s team during the men’s auction of The Hundred on Thursday. The Sunrisers franchise picked Ahmed for a reported price of USD 255,000. With this move, Abrar created history by becoming the first Pakistan cricketer to be signed by an Indian-owned team in the 100-ball tournament.
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The decision immediately triggered anger among the fans. They accused Kavya and the Sunrisers franchise of ignoring public sentiment, given the recent relations between India and Pakistan. Social media platforms were filled with heated comments questioning why a Pakistan player was picked.
During the Hundred auction, Kavya Maran was seen sitting at the table with head coach Daniel Vettori while teams made their bids. Even before the auction started, there had been heavy discussion about whether Indian-owned teams would pick Pakistan players in the Hundred.
Soon after the signing became public and social media flooded with angry reactions, the official X account of the Sunrisers Leeds franchise suddenly showed a suspension notice. No clear reason was given by the platform, but the message stated that the account had been suspended for breaching X’s rules. The franchise has not yet provided any clarification on the same.
Recently, the media giant Sun TV Network completed a full takeover of the Leeds team, which was earlier known as Northern Superchargers in the 100-ball tournament.
The company bought 49% of the stakes from the ECB, while Yorkshire County Cricket Club has 51% of the shares. The same team also owns Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 but doesn’t have a Pakistani player on their roster.
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Before the auction, all teams in the tournament had publicly said that player selections would be made only on performance, availability, and team requirements. But the signing of Abrar Ahmed has now turned into a massive controversy in India.
James Coles becomes the biggest The Hundred auction surprise
Meanwhile, young uncapped England 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 being bought by London Spirit for a huge amount of GBP 390,000.
Many teams were already interested in Coles at the auction. When his name came up during the auction, several franchises made the bids, but London Spirit decided to go all in and spent a big part of their budget to bring the young English talent into their squad.
At the same time, some well-known international players like Finn Allen, Ryan Rickelton, Matt Henry, and Sherfane Rutherford were picked during the auction. However, a few big overseas names were left disappointed. Players like Sikandar Raza, Lungi Ngidi, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Azmatullah Omarzai failed to find buyers at the auction.
