New Delhi: A rare occurrence of a Pakistani cricketer being selected by the Indian Premier LeagueIPLSupported Franchise, Abrar AhmedHis signing in The Hundred auction could leave the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a tough spot, with the spinner’s availability possibly 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 Rs 7 crore) after a battle with Trent Rockets, becoming the first Indian-owned franchise to sign a Pakistani player since 2009. SA20.
However, mystery spinners cannot get a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Pakistan national cricket team West Indies are due to tour for a two-match Test series during the Window of the Hundred.
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Pakistan has to play a two-Test series against West Indies. The tour is scheduled from July 15 to August 7 and will feature 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.Ahead of the auction, there was considerable scrutiny over whether the IPL-affiliated franchises would bid for Pakistani players, despite all eight teams earlier pledging to make their selection based only on “performance, availability, and the needs of each team”. The ECB and the franchises later issued a joint statement stressing that players cannot be excluded from The Hundred on grounds of nationality. However, TimesofIndia.com has learned that the 27-year-old could not get the NOC from the PCB.“He might not play The Hundred, given the fact that Pakistan is playing a two-match Test series against the West Indies,” a source close to the development told the website.
Sunrisers Leeds signed Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed during The Hundred auction.
Abrar is not Pakistan’s leading spinner in Tests, the team has Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan. However, they will need a green signal from PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.The amount Abrar will earn from The Hundred will easily make him one of the highest earners in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).“It is a lot of money. His agent has put his name in the auction, which means he is confident of getting the NOC. He is also among the few current Pakistani cricketers who have a good relationship with the PCB chief. The chances of him playing in The Hundred are 50-50,” said a PCB source.Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori explained the reason behind the franchise’s bid for the 27-year-old.“Once we lost Adil Rashid, who was a priority initially, we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner category,” Vettori said after the auction. “There were four or five players we were looking at and Abrar was one of them. We are delighted to have him.”
Abrar Ahmed might not play The Hundred, given the fact that Pakistan are playing a two-match Test series against the West Indies.
A TOI source
Vettori also emphasized that apart from Abrar, another Pakistani mystery spinner, Usman Tariqwas also on their radar.“We planned for everyone who was in the auction. After losing Adil Rashid, the priority was to get a spin bowler and we didn’t think the quality was available in the domestic market, so we had to go abroad. Rashad Hussain, Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed were all players on our radar.“It’s a bit of a mystery, I don’t think many English players have faced him and he recently played in that Australian series. The opinion of the Australian players was that he would be difficult to face with a lot of variation and the ability to attack in the powerplay and in the middle overs, which is a key requirement at Headingley. Spinners have been the ones who have really succeeded there. Having him there will make a huge difference for us.“Apart from Abrar, Usman Tariq was the second Pakistani cricketer to be bought during The Hundred auction, bought by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000 (Rs 5.21 crore approx). Phoenix has no IPL connection. Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf, opener Saeem Ayub and all-rounder Shadab Khan were not sold. Left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi had earlier opted out of the auction. In Wednesday’s Women’s Hundred auction, only two Pakistani players, Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal, went unsold.
