Daniel Vettori (Photo by TOI) NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Leeds’ signing of Pakistan mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the 2026 player auction has sparked a social media storm in India, but head coach Daniel Vettori has explained that the move was a purely cricketing decision after the franchise missed out on England star Adil Rashid.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Sunrisers Leeds, owned by Sun TV Network, secured Abrar for US$255,000 in the opening men’s auction for The Hundred, making him the first Pakistani player to be picked by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament. The decision drew criticism from some fans in India who questioned the move and targeted franchise owner Kavya Maran on social media.
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After the auction, Vettori said the team’s strategy changed after Rashid was poached by Southern Brave.READ ALSO: The official X account of Sunrisers Leeds was suspended shortly after the signing of Abrar Ahmed“Once we missed Adil Rashid, who was a priority early on, then of course we jumped into the overseas spin market. We were looking at four or five guys and Abrar was one of them. We were very happy to get him,” said Vettori.
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He emphasized that there had been no internal discussions about keeping Pakistani players out, despite earlier reports suggesting a possible shadow ban for Indian-owned teams.“We just planned for whoever was in the auction. There was no discussion about not picking Pakistani players. It was just about who was the best option available,” he explained.Vettori added that the franchise had identified several overseas spinners, including Usman Tariq and Rishad Hossain, before finally settling on Abrar.“He’s a bit of a mystery. A lot of England players haven’t seen him much. He played against Australia recently and the feedback from their players was that he’s difficult to face, with a lot of variation and the ability to hit at power and through the middle,” Vettori said.According to the former New Zealand captain, Abrar’s skillset could be particularly valuable at the Headingley Cricket Ground, where spinners have historically played a crucial role.“Spinners were the ones who succeeded there. Having someone like Abrar could make a big difference for us,” he added.
For full list of matches, venues and timings, see IPL 2026 Full Schedule, Schedules and Team Match Dates here.
