After much speculation about the stance of The Hundred teams owned by IPL franchises about bidding for Pakistani players in the auction, Sunrisers Leeds not only bid for leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed but also acquired his services for 190,000 pounds (approximately Rs 2.3 crore).
There had been reports earlier that the teams bought by IPL franchise owners would not be bidding for Pakistani players, and developments in the early part of Thursday’s auction seemed to follow the script. Mystery spinner Usman Tariq, known for the angular approach and the long pause before delivery, was the only player from his country to find any takers. Birmingham Phoenix got him for 140,000 pounds after a brief tussle with Trent Rockets. Neither of these franchises has any IPL-owner involvement.
Other Pakistani players whose names came up for bidding – Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan – found no takers.