SRH owner Kavya Maran & Abrar Ahmed (Image Source: X)
Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran, who has a sister franchise in England called Sunrisers Leeds, signed Abrar Ahmed for The Hundred Men 2026.
Given that India and Pakistan players have often been the topic of discussion of late whenever they go up against each other, fans did not take Kavya’s decision to sign Abrar lightly, keeping in mind that Sunrisers Leeds are owned by someone very popular in India.
To make matters worse, Abrar had a disastrous debut in the Hundred Men 2026 on Tuesday (July 21) when MI London were up against Sunrisers Leeds in Match 1 of the ongoing edition at The Oval, London.
In 10 balls, Abrar Ahmed leaked 30 runs without picking up a wicket. Needless to say, it was one of the most miserable performances by him on the field with the ball in hand.
Why Kavya Maran's SRH Signed Abrar Ahmed
With Abrar conceding so many runs on his debut, MI London defeated Sunrisers Leeds by seven wickets in The Hundred Men 2026 opener. The Sam Curran-led side chased down an easy 144-run target with 16 balls to spare.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sunrisers Leeds head coach Daniel Vettori revealed the reason behind signing Abrar Ahmed for The Hundred Men 2026.
There, he admitted their first priority was Adil Rashid among spinners, but Abrar’s quality in the shortest format of the game made them realise he was the most suitable alternative once Rashid was gone for grabs.
Even though Vettori made a statement on Sunrisers signing Abrar Ahmed in the past, he never revealed that Rashid was their first priority.
"Adil Rashid was a priority for us and when we missed out on him we looked to the overseas market for spinners. There are a number of very good bowlers in that group and we decided Abrar, after a few discussions, was the best option," Vettori said.
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Furthermore, Vettori highlighted Abrar’s phenomenal skill set with the ball and how he can disturb English batters, taking his SRH co-owned team out of nowhere into a strong position.
"He gives us the flexibility to bowl at any stage of the innings and he's a proven wicket-taker. I think the fact that he has so many mystery deliveries and that a lot of English batters won't have faced him before puts us in a good position because we need that wicket-taking option through the middle," Vettori added.
Abrar To Be Back In Action On Saturday
Despite putting up a poor show with the ball, Abrar did draw a lot of attention when he smashed a six on the first ball of his debut, that too when it was a hat-trick delivery, bowled by Richard Gleeson.
The star-studded Sunrisers Leeds, consisting of Mitchell Marsh, Ryan Rickelton, Harry Brook, Nathan Ellis and captain Zak Crawley, among others, will return to action once again on Saturday (July 25).
They will face Southern Brave next in Match 5 of The Hundred Men 2026 at Headingley, Leeds. Abrar will seek redemption there, with the likes of David Miller and Tristan Stubbs, among many others, to be there as his targets.
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