DC coach makes shocking Pakistan remark after Hundred auction [Source: AFP]The Hundred Men’s auction concluded on Thursday, but instead of talking about the costliest players in the auction, or the surprise picks, the talk of the town has been the inclusion of Pakistan player, Abrar Ahmed, in the Sunrisers Leeds squad. The Kavya Maran-owned team shocked everyone by purchasing the Pakistan spinner, and she received flak for it.In an interesting revelation, Delhi Capitals and Southern Brave coach Hemang Badani revealed that the franchise was interested in buying players from Pakistan in The Hundred auction, but eventually the plan was cancelled as they found better players.Southern Brave head coach makes shocking Pakistan revelationBadani insisted that the auction plan was to stick to the plan and build the best possible squad, but he admitted that Pakistani players were on the shortlist, but eventually they were not bought."We had a few players on our list," Badani said when asked about picking Pakistan players in the Hundred auction.“The bottom line is that we’re looking at securing the best possible squad. And the best squad is what we felt the way we moved forward. Because we had Tristan Stubbs already, we had Marcus Stoinis already. We were looking at either an overseas spinner or a local spinner, and we added Adil Rashid in the squad," Badani said as quoted by TOI.Southern Brave squad for The Hundred 2026Jamie Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Tristan Stubbs, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, David Miller, Luke Wood, Ben McKinney, Thomas Rew, Michael Pepper, Tom Abell, Dan Worrall, Caleb Falconer, Nikhail ChaudharyThe team invested in quality players during the auction. In Adil Rashid and Nikhil Chaudhary, the side has two brilliant spinners, an the batting looks brilliant with the likes of Thomas Rew, and David Miller added to strengthen the squad.Also Read: The Hundred 2026 Men: Southern Brave Full Squad, Player List, Roles And PriceSouthern Brave escapes controversy as Sunrisers fall into the trapOnly two Pakistan players were sold in The Hundred auction, with Abrar joining the Sunrisers, and Usman Tariq purchased by Birmingham Phoenix. The controversy erupted as the Kavya Maran-owned side went hard to buy the Pakistan spinner, and they spent a hefty amount to buy him.The team received a lot of negative comments for buying Abrar, and ironically, hours after their decision was taken on the auction table, Sunrisers Leeds’ social media account (X) was suspended, even though no reason was given.Fans blasted the team for running after a Pakistan player due to the ongoing tension between the two nations. Hence, it could be said that the Southern Brave side had a great escape, or else, the team might have faced similar criticism.Pakistan players unsold in The HundredOnly Abrar and Tariq were sold in the auction, but some of the big names were left out as they went unsold.The likes of Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Saim Ayub, the four high-profile players from the nation were snubbed as others were given preference. Even in the Women’s side, Pakistan had two representatives, but both were snubbed as Pakistan only has two representatives in The Hundred 2026.Also Read: Usman Tariq The Hundred 2026 Salary: How Much Will The Controversial Pakistan Spinner Earn?
