SunRisers Leeds owner Kavya Maran has faced plenty of backlash after buying Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed in the Men’s Hundred 2026 auction held on March 12, Thursday. Maran, who has been labelled as anti-national by a section of fans, also reportedly wanted to go for Abrar’s fellow countryman Usman Tariq.
13 Pakistani players entered in the Men’s Hundred 2026 auction
Four IPL franchises bought stake in The Hundred, with SunRisers Hyderabad buying 100% of Northern Superchargers, Lucknow Super Giants buying 70% of Manchester Originals, Delhi Capitals purchasing 40% of Southern Brave and finally Mumbai Indians buying 49% of Oval Invincibles. Hence, eyes were on whether these four franchises would go for Pakistani players during the auction, while there were reports circulating around Pakistan players getting ‘shadow banned’. Although Birmingham Pheonix acquiring Usman Tariq for £140,000 didn’t attract criticism since it has no IPL stake, SunRisers invited plenty of it for purchasing Abrar for ₹2.34 crore. Abrar and Usman were the only Pakistani cricketers to be sold in the auction.
Here’s how the netizens have reacted to Abrar getting acquired by the SunRisers Leeds:
There should be placards shaming these fellows every time they reach Stadiums, every time you see Kavya Maran.
— Ilāsantati-Āyus (@karna_indian) March 12, 2026
Here is an Indian franchise signing a player from neighbors country who keeps mocking India on social media. Business talks louder language then national sentiments. Shame on Kavya Maran 😡 pic.twitter.com/pcHU3PGLHy
— Ajit Pratap Singh (@iAjitPratap) March 12, 2026
Kavya Maran forget to wear Pakistani jersy while selecting anti Indian Abrar,
So I asked grok to do the needful… pic.twitter.com/1OL44PF3VQ
— Ctrl C Ctrl Memes (@Ctrlmemes_) March 12, 2026
It’s time to boycott @SunRisers in @IPL ,Why did Kavya Maran brought Pakistani player Abrar Ahmed ? Is it Money above country for her? Shame on Kavya and Sunrises. #Thehundred #Ipl2026 #TataIPL #SunrisersHyderabad
— The Boss (@BackBhakt) March 12, 2026
Have some shame kavya maran!
— T (@TD00008) March 12, 2026
Usman tariq is a decent guy, sticks to cricket doesn’t get involved in politics..no qualms about him being selected.
But abrar ahmed??..he is anti India too the core. Shame on kavya maran and SRH pic.twitter.com/aECBq8e2FK
— Vaibhav (@VaibhavKhairna7) March 12, 2026
Abrar Ahmed’s white-ball stats:
Abrar, who has played 63 international games in total, has featured in 53 white-ball matches thus far. In 38 T20Is, the 27-year-old has claimed 52 scalps at 17.36 alongside an economy rate of 6.67. As far as ODIs go, he has taken 28 wickets in 15 fixtures at 21.67 apiece.
With Maran acquiring the Pakistan-born cricketer, the SunRisers Hyderabad could cop criticism during IPL 2026 too.
