Abrar Ahmed is uncertain to play The Hundred 2026 league despite being picked up by Sunrisers Leeds. For the first time, an IPL franchise-backed team invested in a Pakistan cricketer ahead of a new season.
From an amount of £190,000 (around PKR 7 crore) after a bidding war with Trent Rockets, Kavya Maran’s side roped in the mystery spinner. Kavya Maran, the co-owner of the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, had to go through a lot of backlash on social media platforms.
Why is Abrar Ahmed uncertain for the Men’s The Hundred 2026 tournament?
Now, the question is, will the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) allow Abrar Ahmed to take part in The Hundred tournament? If, the Pakistan cricket team picks the spinner for their tour to the West Indies, then, he may not be able to play in the tournament. Before taking part in the league, the mystery spinner will have to take a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the board as well.
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The Pakistan men’s cricket team is scheduled to tour the West Indies from July 15 to August 7, 2026, for a two-match Test series as part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle. The tour includes a warm-up match as well.
The warm-up match and the second Test match are scheduled to take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, and the first Test will be held at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad. CWI Vice President Azim Bassarath said it before that this Test series will mark a key return to these venues.
On the other side, The Hundred 2026 will be from July 21 to August 16, which means the schedules of the league and the Test series are mostly overlapping. In case PCB denies Abrar Ahmed the much-needed NOC, then he will have to pull himself out of The Hundred.
He might not play The Hundred: A source
“He might not play The Hundred, given the fact that Pakistan is playing a two-match Test series against West Indies”, a source told Times of India.
“It is a lot of money. His agent has put his name in the auction, which means he is confident of getting the NOC. He is also among the few current Pakistani cricketers who have a good relationship with the PCB chief. The chances of him playing in The Hundred are 50-50,” said a PCB source informing the website further.
Once we missed out on Adil Rashid, who was a priority early on, we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner category – Daniel Vettori
Sunrisers Leeds are happy to secure the service of Abrar Ahmed. Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori revealed they were departing for the spinner after missing out on Adil Rashid.
“Once we missed out on Adil Rashid, who was a priority early on, we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner category. There were four or five players we were looking at and Abrar was one of them. We are very pleased to get him,” Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori explained the reason behind the franchise’s bid for Abrar Ahmed.
