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Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran is facing massive backlash on social media after Sunrisers Leeds, a franchise owned by the Sun Group in The Hundred league, signed Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed during the London auction.
Kavya Maran Faces Social Media Fury After Pakistani Cricketer Pick in The Hundred
New Delhi: Kavya Maran, owner of the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, is currently embroiled in controversy on social media. Indian fans have been angered by the inclusion of Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed in the Sunrisers Leeds team during the auction for the, "The Hundred." Many users on social media are calling for a boycott of the Sunrisers franchise and urging people not to support the team in IPL 2026.
The IPL 2026 season is scheduled to begin on March 28, but this controversy has already created new difficulties for the Sunrisers franchise.
On Thursday, a player auction for "The Hundred" took place in London. The Sunrisers Leeds team is owned by the Sun Group, whose CEO is Kavya Maran. During the auction, Sunrisers Leeds bid for Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, adding him to their team for approximately ₹2.34 crore (approximately $2.34 million).
Kavya Maran was present during the auction with the team's head coach, Daniel Vettori. The team is captained by England batsman Harry Brook. Abrar's purchase has sparked a major debate among Indian cricket fans.
Due to the long-standing strained political relations between India and Pakistan, Pakistani players have not been included in the IPL since 2009. Consequently, many fans were unhappy with the purchase of a Pakistani player by an Indian-owned franchise.
Many critics said the decision hurt national sentiments. Some users even alleged that Abrar Ahmed had previously made controversial statements about Indian security forces, yet he was included in the team.
Following this decision, hashtags like #ShameOnSRH and #BoycottSunrisers began trending on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Many users strongly criticized Kavya Maran and the Sunrisers franchise.
One user wrote that for years, Indian teams have maintained a distance from Pakistani players out of respect for national sentiments, but this principle has weakened in the face of foreign leagues and money.
Abrar Ahmed became the second Pakistani player to be sold in this auction. Previously, spinner Usman Tariq was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for approximately ₹1.72 crore.
The next season of The Hundred will be played from July 21 to August 16. It will be interesting to see whether this controversy impacts the popularity of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026.
