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Pakistan’s star spinner Abrar Ahmed has got the nod from Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to play in the upcoming season of The Hundred.
In the upcoming season, the Pakistani spinner will be seen playing for the Sunrisers Leeds. Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Leeds secured the signing of the spin wizard during the players’ auction for a price tag of £190,000 (approximately INR 2.34 crore).
Abrar Ahmed receives green signal from PCB ahead of The Hundred
The signing of the spinner by the Indian franchise-owned team had attracted significant controversy across social media platforms. It was the first time in nearly two decades that a franchise owned by an IPL agglomerate secured the services of a Pakistani cricketer.
Despite the backlash on social media platforms, Sunrisers remained firm on their stance and denied releasing Abrar Ahmed. However, the cricket fraternity was curious to see whether PCB would allow him to play for the Indian owned team. Eliminating all speculations, PCB provides Ahmed a green signal ahead of the tournament.
Why did Sunrisers Leeds cash in for Abrar Ahmed?
After securing the Pakistani spinner, on behalf of the franchise, Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori claimed that they invested in Abrar Ahmed as they needed to secure a world-class spinner. On their priority list, England's Adil Rashid was at the top of their wish list. As they missed the opportunity to sign Rashid, they went for Ahmed and made the historic deal.
"Once we missed out on Adil Rashid [to Southern Brave], who was a priority early on, then we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner. There were four or five guys that we were looking at, and Abrar was one of them. Very pleased to get him," Daniel Vettori said.
Some other Pakistani cricketers were also under the SRH's radar
Vettori further reveals that they never had any internal conversation against any Pakistani cricketers. So, they had no dilemma regarding the signing. Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq, and Ahmed were all under the radar of the franchise because of their quality.
"We just planned for everyone who was in the auction. There wasn't a discussion [about not picking Pakistan players] - it was just who was the best option. After we missed out on Adil Rashid, the priority was going to get a spin bowler, and we didn't think that quality was in the local market, so we had to jump overseas. Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq, and Abrar Ahmed - they were all guys that were on our radar," the Sunrisers head coach mentioned confidently.
As the PCB has issued the much-required No Objection Certificate to their star spinner, Ahmed is now all clear to play for Sunrisers for the upcoming edition of The Hundred. It will be interesting to see how the 27-year-old performs on English soil. He last featured during the 2026 season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) during the Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators match on April 25.
