BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla clarified the Indian cricket governing body's stance on Sunrisers Leeds signing Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred 2026 auction. Amid a backlash over the IPL-linked team's move for the Pakistani cricketer, Shukla said the BCCI is not concerned, saying the signing took place outside India.

As India's relations with Pakistan remain at an all-time low, especially after the 2025 Pahalgam attack, the Sunrisers Leeds' move for Abrar Ahmed has caused an uproar among Indian cricket fans. Many fans online are demanding the BCCI step in and boycott Sunrisers Hyderabad before the start of the IPL 2026.

When asked about the BCCI's stance on the controversial move, Rajeev Shukla said that the BCCI's domain is only limited to the IPL.

"Our domain is limited to IPL; we are not concerned by what is happening in other leagues," Shukla told ANI on March 13. "It is clearly up to the franchise that has bought a team outside India if they are taking some player somewhere outside India...We are least concerned about it...In the IPL, there is no such player."

Meanwhile, hours after the Sunrisers Leeds spent £190,000 (INR 2.3 crore) to sign Abrar Ahmed, the team's official X (formerly Twitter) account was suspended.

Also read: Sunrisers Leeds X account suspended hours after Abrar Ahmed signing in the Hundred auction 2026

Sunrisers Leeds clarifies the reason behind Abrar Ahmed's signing

In the first-ever auction in the Hundred's history, only two Pakistani players managed to grab the deals. After Usman Tariq's move to the Birmingham Phoenix, Sunrisers Leeds became the first IPL-linked team to sign the Pakistani player in the event.

The move quickly sparked a debate online, with many Indian fans questioning whether the team had planned it already. However, Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori dismissed the claim, saying they had no internal discussion about Pakistani players.

"We just planned for everyone that was in the auction," Vettori said in a post-auction conference. "There wasn't a discussion [about not picking Pakistan players] - it was just who was the best option. After we missed out on Adil Rashid, the priority was going to get a spin bowler and we didn't think that quality was in the local market, so we had to jump overseas. Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, they were all guys that were on our radar."

Apart from Abrar Ahmed, Sunrisers Leeds also signed Ryan Rickelton, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts, Dan Lawrence, Abrar Ahmed, Benny Howell, Tom Lawes, Tom Alsop, Liam Patterson-White, Reece Topley and Ed Barnard.