Last Updated on 3 weeks ago by Charbel Coorey

A big talking point sparked when the Sunrisers Leeds bought Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed for $255,000 during The Hundred 2026 auction. Abrar became the first Pakistani player to be picked up by an Indian franchise in the auction.

India fans were visibly enraged after the move, as Abrar is accused of mocking the Indian army, the people, and pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from a tense incident between the two countries back in 2019. 

The Pakistani spinner also posted a video as recent as last month, which was not taken well by the Indian fans on social media. 

Reactions: India fans make feelings clear after Sunrisers Leeds bought Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred Auction

Calls to boycott Sunrisers from India

Amidst all this, India fans expressed their frustration with Sunrisers picking up Abrar Ahmed. Many fans called it a heartbreak, while some labeled it as a betrayal from the franchise. 

Here are some of the reactions from the fans: 

Many fans have called for the boycott of the Sunrisers franchise in the IPL, too, following the move. Franchise owner Kaviya Maran also got a lot of heat from the fans following the auction. 

Head coach Daniel Vettori stated that it became a necessity for them to get an overseas spinner (including Abrar) after they missed out on Adil Rashid, who was their main target.

“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,” Vettori said after the auction, as quoted by India Today.

Rival fans pleased to see Indian-owned franchise bid for Pakistan player

Vettori also shared that there was no discussion between the coaches and the management about excluding or avoiding the Pakistani players. 

Rival fans, including from England and South Africa, were pleased to see an Indian-owned franchise purchase Abrar.

Earlier, there were reports that the Indian-ownership-based franchises would not bid for the Pakistani players, which was later denied in a combined statement by the franchises. But interestingly except for the Sunrisers, no other Indian-owned franchise picked any Pakistani player.

Hours after the controversy, the official X account of Sunrisers Leeds has been suspended, with the reason not known. 

Interestingly, a similar incident happened with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL as they were asked to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman after tensions between India and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, an official statement on the issue is awaited from the franchise or the ownership group.

The Sunrisers (owned by Sun TV) acquired the franchise (previously Northern Superchargers) in The Hundred last year. They acquired 51% stakes from Yorkshire and 49% stakes from the ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board).