Sunrisers bought Pakistani player for crores, but suspense remains on playing, will PCB stop his entry?

The Hundred League: Pakistan’s spin bowler Abrar Ahmed The Hundred League There is a lot of controversy and criticism after the Indian-owned franchise SunRisers Leeds was selected in the auction. In the auction held in London on Sunday, the franchise has added Abrar Ahmed for 1,90,000 pounds (about Rs 2.34 crore).

This franchise is under the control of the same group that also operates Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Eastern Cape. However, now there is a possibility that Abrar Ahmed may not be able to play in this league.

What is the whole matter?

According to the report, Pakistan Cricket Board cannot give him No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play, because Pakistan team’s tour of West Indies is scheduled at the same time. Pakistan team will tour West Indies between July 15 and August 7, where a two-Test series is to be played. On the other hand, The Hundred will start from July 21 and this tournament will continue till August 16. For this reason there is a conflict in the timings of both the programs.

A report in The Times of India quoted a source as saying, “It is possible that he may not be able to play in The Hundred, because at the same time Pakistan is playing a two-Test series against West Indies.”

The source further said, “It is a huge amount. His agent has put his name in the auction, which means they are confident that he can get the NOC. He is one of the few current Pakistani players who has a good relationship with the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board. So his chances of playing in The Hundred are 50-50.”

Why was Abrar chosen?

Meanwhile, Sunrisers Leeds head coach Daniel Vettori said that the team chose Abrar Ahmed because they lacked good spin bowlers. The team was earlier trying to take England’s star spinner Adil Rashid, but it could not happen.

Daniel Vettori said, “When we could not get Adil Rashid, our priority was to get a spin bowler. We felt that there was not that level of quality in the local market, so we had to look towards foreign players. Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed were the players who were in our sights.” Team co-owner Kavya Maran was also present along with Daniel Vettori during the auction.

Earlier, Sun TV Group had purchased a majority stake in The Hundred franchise, formerly known as Northern Superchargers. Sun TV Network bought 49 percent stake in this team from England and Wales Cricket Board and the remaining 51 percent stake from Yorkshire for about 100 million pounds.