"Shame On SRH": Kavya Maran Faces Backlash For Abrar Ahmed The Hundred Auction Buy

Kavya Maran faces backlash for buying Abrar Ahmed [Source: @Rajiv1841/X.com]

In an interesting twist, Kavya Maran-owned franchise Sunrisers Leeds bought Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed during The Hundred 2026 auction. Maran, who primarily owns SRH in the IPL, faced a lot of heat on social media for trusting a Pakistan national.

The Hundred 2026 auction kicked off under a lot of cloud as IPL-linked franchises with Indian owners were expected to ignore Pakistani players. However, SRH backed Sunrisers Leeds quickly turned the tables, leading to social media uproar.

Sunrisers Leeds pick Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred auction

At The Hundred 2026 player auction, Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed was surprisingly bought by Sunrisers Leeds for £190,000. While Trent Rockets kicked off the bidding war, Sunrisers unexpectedly joined the war and emerged victorious.

Sunrisers Leeds is owned by the same ownership group connected to Sunrisers Hyderabad, whose CEO is Kavya Maran, seated right at the table where the bids were taking place.

Earlier in the auction, Pakistani players like Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Saim Ayub went unsold, and hence, fans expected Indian owners to completely boycott the Pakistani lot. However, Kavya Maran turned the tables unexpectedly. 

Abrar Ahmed is now only the second Pakistani player to be sold in The Hundred 2026 auction. Earlier, Usman Tariq was sold to Birmingham Phoenix, which is owned by US-based businessmen.

Also Read - The Hundred Team Owners List

SRH, Kavya Maran faces heat

While Sunrisers Leeds made a tactical decision to rope in a mystery spinner in Abrar Ahmed, the decision didn’t sit well with Indian fans on social media.

The backlash stems from Abrar’s past social-media activity. After India’s military action Operation Sindoor in May, Abrar reportedly posted comments mocking India and its armed forces.

Many Indian fans felt that an IPL-linked franchise signing him sends the wrong message. So when SunRisers Leeds signed him, social media criticism quickly followed.

Geopolitik

@geopolitiik

Could have gone for some other Pakistani player Sunrisers and it would have flown under the radar, but not Abrar. He is the one who openly mocked an Indian soldier. This is a terrible decision. Dan Vettori can't dictate who you sign. He is your employee at the end of the day.

Malavpatel

@Malavpatel98

@sunrisersleeds Bought a porki 🐷 in the auction such a shame, all that money will now be used to kill innocent Indians.

Saim

@saim__________

By tomorrow they'll announce that they've let Abrar go after getting abused by #them

Hindustan

@sumitrajpoot01

Shame on Sunrisers Hyderabad Owner. 🚨 Buying a player like Abrar Ahmed (The Hundred), who mocked the Indian Army during Operation Sindoor, sends a terrible message to millions of Indian fans who support the franchise. 🤬

Mar 12, 2026, 6:41 PM

ani

@anyrium

SRH bought that terrorist Abrar Ahmed😡😡😡😡 Kavya maran you won't see heaven

🦉

@Flicks_it

SRH owner Kavya Maran bought Paki player Abrar Ahmed, a man who constantly takes dig at India and their soldiers. Will BCCI ban them from ipl or is it only limited to SRK and his team?

Mar 12, 2026, 6:44 PM

Kavya Maran still played by the books

That being said, Kavya Maran led Sunrisers Leeds, who were technically allowed to buy Abrar Ahmed. Despite tensions between India and Pakistan, Pakistani players have not played in the IPL since 2008.

But The Hundred is run by the ECB, not the BCCI. Therefore, IPL ownership links do not legally prevent teams from buying Pakistani players. So the signing does not violate any rules.

Also, apart from Abrar Ahmed, Leeds also signed Ryan Rickelton, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts and Dan Lawrence.

That being said, James Coles became the most expensive player of The Hundred auction after the London Spirit bought him for a whopping price of £390,000. He attracted multiple bidders in Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Super Giants, Trent Rockets and Sunrisers Leeds. 

However, London Spirit made a late entry and eventually ended up locking up James Coles for a record price.

He is a right-handed batter who can also bowl slow left-arm orthodox spin. Coles previously represented Southern Brave in The Hundred. 

Also Read - BCCI Makes Shocking IPL 2026 Announcement For Pitch Quality