Kavya Maran, owner of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, is once again in the news. This time, the reason for the discussion isn’t the team’s performance, but rather a decision by Maran that has caught people’s attention. This is a similar decision that caused controversy a few months ago. Kavya Maran’s franchise, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, has signed Bangladeshi spinner Rishad Hossain for the new season of South Africa’s T20 league SA20. This signing is reminiscent of the decision to sign Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed for The Hundred, which caused a lot of controversy.
All six franchises recently announced their retention and new signings for the 2026-27 SA20 season. Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape retained stalwarts like captain Tristan Stubbs, Marco Yanson, and Quinton de Kock, and also bolstered their squad by signing Australia’s T20 captain Mitchell Marsh. However, the decision that garnered the most attention was the signing of Riyadh Hossain.
In addition to Marsh, the Kavya Maran-owned Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Bangladeshi leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. Hossain was signed because the team’s Afghan spinner, Allah Ghazanfar, will not be a part of the league this time. Sunrisers made this decision to protect their spin attack from weakening. Rishad took 14 wickets for Bangladesh in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
But the decision to include Riyaz in their squad created a storm on social media. Once again, Kavya Maran and Sunrisers Hyderabad are facing questions about signing players from a country with which India’s relations are deteriorating. Relations between India and Bangladesh have been strained for the past year and a half. This led to Mustafizur Rahman’s exclusion from the IPL. Bangladesh also refused to travel to India for the World Cup. Following this, relations between the two countries’ cricket boards became even more strained.
This isn’t the first time Sunrisers have been embroiled in such controversy. Just a few months ago, during the auction for the English league “The Hundred,” Kavya Maran’s bid for Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed sparked widespread controversy and criticism. Abrar had mocked the Indian Army during Operation Sindoor, leading to controversy over the purchase of the same bowler. However, despite this, Abrar Ahmed remains a part of the Sunrisers team.