Pakistan’s Sports Starship Abrar Ahmad Scores a Record-Busting $12 Million Buyout!

NEW DELHI: In a rare instance of a Pakistani cricketer being picked by an Indian Premier League (IPL)-backed franchise, Abrar Ahmed's signing at The Hundred auction could leave the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a tricky spot, with the spinner's availability potentially clashing with Pakistan's bilateral tour commitments. Abrar was bought by Sunrisers Leeds, a franchise controlled by the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, for £190,000 (around PKR 7 crore) after a bidding war with Trent Rockets, making it the first Indian-owned franchise to sign a Pakistani player since 2009. No active Pakistani player had previously played for a Sunrisers-backed franchise in the IPL or the SA20.

However, the mystery spinner may not receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) as the Pakistan national cricket team is scheduled to tour West Indies for a two-match Test series during the window of The Hundred. 129573568 Pakistan are due to play a two-match Test series against the West Indies. The tour is scheduled from July 15 to August 7 and features two Tests and a four-day warm-up match.

Meanwhile, The Hundred will run for four weeks, starting on July 21 and ending on August 16. Before the auction, there was considerable scrutiny over whether the IPL linked franchises would bid for Pakistani players, despite all eight teams having earlier committed to making their selections solely on "performance, availability, and the needs of each team" ahead of the auction. The ECB and the franchises later issued a joint statement stressing that players cannot be excluded on the basis of nationality in The Hundred.

However, TimesofIndia. com has learnt that the 27-year-old might not receive an NOC from the PCB. "He might not play The Hundred, given the fact that Pakistan is playing a two match Test series against West Indies," a source tracking the development told this website.