Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed signed by Indian-owned Sunrisers Leeds in Hundred auction

[p]In February, the ‌BBC reported that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-super-giants/UR4JrrTq/"]Manchester Super Giants[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mi-london/fmoV4Yqn/"]‌MI London[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southern-brave/GdnR5EUu/"]Southern Brave[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunrisers-leeds/lApZ3hah/"]Sunrisers Leeds[/a] would not ‌consider signing Pakistani players for the United ‌Kingdom-based competition amid tensions between neighbours [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mumbai-indians/2eZPzJH2/"]India[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pakistan/tS3K91g9/"]Pakistan[/a].[/p][p]Following the report, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ‌and all eight franchises stressed that ⁠players must not ‌be excluded from selection based on nationality.[/p][p]Abrar has played 38 ​Twenty20s for Pakistan since making his debut in 2024, taking 52 wickets with ​an economy rate of 6.67.[/p][p]Sunrisers opened the bidding for the 27-year-old at 130,000 pounds before ⁠raising their bid ​to fend off interest from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/trent-rockets/2Dlw3CEb/"]Trent Rockets[/a].[/p][embed guid="ccea1c88-393a-4236-a33d-effe10cf40ee" url="https://x.com/sunrisersleeds/status/2032083435364446292" social-type="twitter" /][p]Trent Rockets, who are not Indian-owned, also attempted to sign Abrar's compatriot Usman Tariq, who ultimately joined [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/birmingham-phoenix/OSxn1jqB/"]Birmingham ‌Phoenix[/a] for 140,000 pounds, while Pakistan's Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf went unsold.[/p][p]Pakistani players have been effectively barred from the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009.[/p][p]James Coles, a 21-year-old all-rounder who plays for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sussex/Wz1GzZ9m/"]Sussex[/a], fetched the highest price in the first half of the auction as he was bought by London Spirit for 390,000 ‌pounds, while Welsh Fire picked up former England ​captain Joe Root and Jordan Cox.[/p][p]The Hundred, ‌the only cricket league in the world that uses a 100-ball format, will be held from July 21st to August 16th.[/p][p]It was opened to private investment last year, with ⁠four franchises acquired ⁠by IPL owners.[/p]