‘No patriotism for rich people,’ backlash against Sunrisers:Indian-owned franchise buys Pak cricketer, outrage provokes ban on X

Sunrisers Leeds, owned by Chennai-based media conglomerate Sun Group, faced a massive backlash on social media on Thursday, when it bought mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed during the Hundred player auction. Notably, Abrar is a Pakistani national player and became the first from his nation to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament. The Sunrisers gave GBP 190000 (₹2.34 crore approximately) to acquire the services of Ahmed after a bidding war with the Trent Rockets. His signing also put to rest the talks that Indian Hundred owners will not bid for Pakistan players, as the franchises from the IPL have not engaged them since 2009, owing to strained diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring nations. However, the latest buy from The Hundred franchise got massive backlash from indian userbase on social media. Let’s catch some of the prominent reactions from X (formerly Twitter) that got netizens’ attention… A user took a nostalgic ride to the instant when Abrar Ahmed made fun of the Pahalgam victims and the Indian Army. Pakistani cricketer Abrar Ahmed posted a photo on Instagram with the caption “Fantastic Tea” on March 1, 2025. The post, which featured him holding a cup of tea, was interpreted as a reference to mocking IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, coinciding with the anniversary of his release in 2019. Meanwhile, an X user, seemingly a Sunrisers Hyderabad fan, protested against his favourite franchise with the following post. An X user made a bold claim, targeting Kavya Maran, CEO of Sunrisers Hyderabad and a key part of the Sun Group, which owns the UK league-based franchise, Sunrisers Leeds. Another X user raged against the Indian-owned franchise, Sunrisers Leeds, for buying Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred auction. Light-hearted reactions While some of the fans posted serious comments about the latest transaction of The Hundred franchise, Sunrisers Leeds, a certain pool of fans posted light-hearted reactions. Here are a couple of them… How did Indian-owned franchise enter The Hundred auction? The Sun Group, which also owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, completed a full takeover of the erstwhile Northern Superchargers last year, buying a 49% stake from the ECB and the remaining 51% from county club Yorkshire for around GBP 100 million. The Sunrisers CEO, Kavya Maran, attended the auction and did the paddle-raising duty. They also own Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20, but don’t have a Pakistan player in their roster. Abrar was the second Pakistan player sold during the auction after another mystery spinner, Usman Tariq, was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for GBP 140,000 (Rs 1.72 crore approximately). However, Phoenix have no IPL connection. Pakistan Pacer Harris Rauf and off-spin all-rounder Saim Ayub were earlier unsold. The League will run from July 21 to August 16. Sunrisers Leeds’ X account banned in India after buying Pakistani player After the massive outlash on social media platforms, Sunrisers Leeds’ X account got banned in India. Pakistan nationals in Indian-owned franchises in overseas leagues It is not the first time that Indian-owner franchises have acquired a Pakistani national into their teams in the overseas leagues. Last year, on June 18, 2025 and October 1, 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders’ overseas franchises in CPL and ILT20 bought Mohammad Amir and Usman Tariq, respectively, after Operation Sindoor. Here’s the list of Pakistan nationals in Indian-owned franchises during 2025-26. It is worth noting that Zaman Khan and Imad Wasim were acquired by Seattle Orcs but were officially released ahead of MLC Season 3 (2025). So their association with the franchise is from the previous 2024 season.