New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has long been known as a strong team in the IPL, but their performance in the last few seasons has been disappointing. The team has won the IPL trophy only once. SRH’s ownership company Sun Group has also bought a team in England’s franchise league ‘The Hundred’, named Sunrisers Leeds.
Recently, the player auction for The Hundred 2026 took place, in which Sunrisers Leeds bought Pakistan’s young leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed for around Rs 2.34 crore. This is the first time that an Indian-owned team has signed a Pakistani player in The Hundred. Abrar was signed by the team after a bidding war with Trent Rockets.
After this news there was a huge uproar on social media. Many users targeted SRH and their co-owner Kavya Maran, calling it against national sentiments. Some talked about a boycott against SRH, while the official The reason for the protest is said to be related to some old statements of Abrar.
BCCI’s clean stand
BCCI Vice President and Secretary Rajiv Shukla reacted for the first time on this controversy. While talking to ANI, he said that the scope of BCCI is limited only to IPL. BCCI cannot interfere in what happens in foreign leagues like The Hundred. Shukla clarified, “It’s the franchise’s decision as to who they sign. We can’t do anything about it. There is no such player in the IPL, so we are the least worried.”
What is the impact in IPL 2026?
IPL 2026 is going to start from March 28, where Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first match will be against RCB in Bengaluru. So far the controversy is limited to The Hundred only, but the opposition is intense on social media. It remains to be seen in the coming days how big this matter becomes and what impact it has on SRH.
At present, BCCI has made it clear that this is beyond their jurisdiction, and the decision lies with the franchise. The eyes of cricket lovers are now fixed on further updates!
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