London: Sunrisers Leeds owner Kavya Maran has refused to comment on the controversy surrounding the signing of Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed to The Hunter.
Maran, who is the chief executive of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad and SA20 team Sunrisers Eastern Cape, oversaw the bid for Sunrisers Leeds Abra during The Hundred Draft. The franchise won a long bidding war with Trent Rockets to secure the mystery spinner for £190,000.
Abrar’s signing attracted significant attention, with Sunrisers Leeds becoming the first team owned by an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise to recruit a Pakistani men’s cricketer to The Hundred.
speaks telegramMaran avoided discussing the matter, with the newspaper describing the issue as politically sensitive. On the contrary, he expressed satisfaction with the team assembled for the match.
“We’re very happy with both of our teams; we have a lot of platforms,” Maran said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad became the only fully-owned hundred-team IPL franchise after buying Yorkshire’s 51 percent stake, along with the England and Wales Cricket Board’s 49 percent stake.
Other Indian investors associated with Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Supergiants also held majority stakes in different hundred franchises.
Ahead of the player draft, there was speculation that Pakistani cricketers would be scouted by Indian franchises.
However, the England and Wales Cricket Board reiterated that The Hundred will be an inclusive tournament, while the eight franchises issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to equality and non-discrimination.
Apart from Abrar, Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq was selected in the men’s draft after being signed by Birmingham Phoenix.
Meanwhile, no Pakistani player was selected during the women’s draft, although Phoenix later signed Pakistan captain Fatima Sana as a replacement.