Kavya Maran, the owner of the Sunrisers Leeds, has broken a 17-year diplomatic deadlock, signing a Pakistani player for the tournament, resulting in major backlash from Indian cricket fans. Although the backlash is subjective, as the team and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have explained the stance, hateful comments were flooding the team’s social media platforms, and even the Sunrisers Leeds X page got suspended. Here are the details.
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Why are Kavya Maran and the Sunrisers Leeds Facing Backlash?
The Sunrisers franchise and the CEO Kavya Maran are facing severe backlash on social media after buying the Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the The Hundred Auction on Thursday. Notably, The Hundred, England’s 100-ball cricket tournament, recently adopted the IPL-style auction format.
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The controversy grew as the Sunrisers Leeds, sister team of IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad, signed Ahmed for £190,000 (approx. ₹2.34 crore), becoming the first Pakistani player to be signed by an Indian-owned team in The Hundred.
Although there’s no rule or open commitment to ignore Pakistani players, there has been a long-standing shadow ban by the Indian-owned franchises in global leagues (like SA20 and ILT20) due to geopolitical tensions.
Since 2008, the Indian Premier League has not acquired any players from Pakistan due to national sentiments. Notably, some reports claim that IPL teams linked to The Hundred (SunRisers Leeds, MI London, Manchester Super Giants, and Southern Brave) were going to support the ban, but Maran outbid the non-IPL-linked teams, following a formal warning from the ECB against discrimination.
Abrar Ahmed’s Old Social Media Activity Angers Indian Fans
The backlash of Indian fans is not limited to the nationality of Abrar Ahmed. Instead, Ahmed’s old social media activity has angered people, especially because of his 2025 posts during Operation Sindoor, which supposedly mocked the Indian Armed Forces.
Indian Forces led Operation Sindoor, an attack on terrorist training camps in Pakistan/ PoK, after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam killing 26 people on April 22, 2025. Ahmed’s post was not appreciated.
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Also, he was accused of posting a “Tea is fantastic” caption, which is believed to be connected with the videos of captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Indian fans view Ahmed’s post as a direct insult to national pride; hence, the criticism and backlash to Kavya Maran and Sunrisers Leeds.
Sunrisers Leeds X Suspended and Insta Lost 100K Followers
What started with backlash and criticism turned into severe retaliation. Initially, fans left angry comments on the Sunrisers social media account, but soon hashtags like #ShameOnSRH, #BoycottSRH, and #JusticeForAbhinandan began trending.
Now reports reveal that the Leeds Instagram account has lost over 100,000 followers within 24 hours of signing Abrar Ahmed. Reportedly, the follower count has dropped from 5.3 million to 5.2 million.
Additionally, X (formerly Twitter) suspended the account of the Sunrisers Leeds. Although X’s management has not disclosed the reason behind this suspension, it is anticipated that this happened due to mass reporting by the fans. There’s also demand for boycotting the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the IPL, set to begin on March 28, 2026.
The Franchise’s Stance
Amid all this backlash, the SRH team management has decided to abide by their decision. The head coach of the team, Daniel Vettori, stated that Abrar Ahmed was picked purely because of his talent, as he is one of the most effective T20 mystery spinners in the world. He has an average of 17.36 with a 6.67 economy.
Additionally, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has also commented on the subject, issuing a reminder that no player can be excluded from The Hundred just because of their nationality. They added that the tournament is subject to UK anti-discrimination laws.