Sunrisers Leeds found itself at the centre of a social media storm on Thursday after its official X (formerly Twitter) account was suddenly suspended, just hours after the franchise signed Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed in the The Hundred player auction. Abrar made headlines after becoming the first Pakistani cricketer to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise in The Hundred.

The Sunrisers secured the mystery spinner’s services for USD 255,000 (approximately ₹2.35 crore), marking one of the notable deals during the men’s player auction. However, the signing triggered a wave of reactions on social media, particularly from sections of Indian fans who criticised the decision. Many users targeted franchise owner Kavya Maran, questioning the move and claiming it ran counter to prevailing national sentiment.

During the auction, Kavya Maran was present at the table alongside head coach Daniel Vettori, representing the franchise as they actively built their squad. In the days leading up to the auction, there had already been speculation about whether Indian-owned teams would bid for Pakistani players, with some reports suggesting an unofficial or “shadow” ban.

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The situation escalated further when Sunrisers Leeds’ official X account was suspended shortly after the signing. While the platform did not disclose the specific reason, users attempting to access the account were greeted with a standard message stating that the account had been suspended for violating X’s rules.

Sunrisers Leeds became part of the Sunrisers cricket network after Sun TV Network completed a full takeover of the Leeds-based franchise last year. The team, previously known as the Northern Superchargers, saw Sun TV acquire a 49 per cent stake from the England and Wales Cricket Board and the remaining 51 per cent from Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

🚨 ECB WARNS KAVYA MARAN’S SUNRISERS LEEDS FOR ABRAR AHMED 🚨

“ The ECB has reportedly informed Sunrisers Leeds that any attempt to release Abrar Ahmed due to external political or commercial pressures will result in the immediate termination of their franchise contract and… pic.twitter.com/B8aemruQ1b

— Kiara (@crickiara) March 13, 2026

Before the auction, all eight Hundred franchises had publicly committed to selecting players based purely on performance, availability and squad requirements. Interestingly, other franchises within the Sunrisers network — including Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Sunrisers Eastern Cape — have never signed an active Pakistani cricketer.

Despite the controversy, Sunrisers Leeds pushed ahead with their plans and won a competitive bidding battle against the Trent Rockets to secure Abrar’s signature.

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Head coach Vettori later revealed that the decision to pursue Abrar came after he consulted several Australian players who had recently faced the spinner and provided positive feedback about his abilities. He also clarified that the franchise did not hold any internal discussions specifically about selecting Pakistani players during the auction process.