SunRisers Hyderabad Boycott Row: Kavya Maran Becomes A Target After Abrar Ahmed's Hundred Deal - A Timeline

Sunrisers Leeds' decision to buy Pakistani Player Abrar Ahmed for GBP 190,000 in the Hundred auction has backfired for the franchise. They are owned by the Indian media Group Sun TV and are a sister franchise of IPL's Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sunrisers Leeds have become the first Indian-owned Hundred franchise to buy a Pakistani player in their squad.

This move has brought immense backlash for the Sun TV Group tycoon Kalanithi Maran's daughter Kavya Maran, who's also the co-owner of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad just days before the start of the biggest cricketing league in the world.

Sunrisers Leeds, which was earlier known as Northern Superchargers was renamed after the Sun TV Group purchased a 100 percent stake in the franchise. They bought a 49% stake from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the remaining (51%) from Yorkshire to garner full ownership and control over the franchise.

How It All Started?

It all started with Sunrisers Leeds getting Abrar Ahmed into their squad in the Hundred Auction for GBP 190,000 (INR 2.35 Cr). Kavya Maran was also present in the auction along with the team management.

This purchase from an Indian-owned franchise triggered the fans on the social media as Abrar Ahmed is notoriously known for mocking the Indian Air Force and fans with his posts with a cup of tea with the caption "Tea is fantastic" (referring to Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's video in Pakistan during temporary captivity) and videos of drinking team with fellow Pakistani teammates.

In no time, the backlash turned into a social media campaign against the Sunrisers management, which dented their IPL brand, Sunrisers Hyderabad, too, as they lost 1 lakh followers on Instagram in a single day.

Even some of the ardent fans of Sunrisers Hyderabad expressed their displeasure over the purchase, and many even went to the extent of boycotting the franchise's matches in the upcoming IPL, which is slated to start from March 28.

Daniel Vettori On Abrar's Induction

Sunrisers Leeds' Head coach Daniel Vettori provided the rationale behind picking Abrah Ahmed in the squad. He said that he deliberated about Abrar with the Australian players, and after positive feedback, the management made the call to induct him into the squad.

"Once we missed out on Adil Rashid [to Southern Brave], who was a priority early on, then we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner," Sunrisers head coach, Daniel Vettori, said. "There were four or five guys that we were looking at and Abrar was one of them. Very pleased to get him."

He also clarified that there were no special discussions held in the franchise on whether or not they should go for a Pakistani player.

"We just planned for everyone that was in the auction. 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.

"It's a bit of mystery. I don't think there are a lot of English players who have seen him, and he recently played in that Australian series. The feedback from the Australian guys was that he was going to be tricky to face, a lot of variations and an ability to strike in the powerplay, and still through the middle stages, which I think is a key requirement at Headingley. Spinners have been the only ones who have really succeeded there. To have him there is going to be a big difference for us."

Sunrisers Leeds' X Account Got Suspended

As the backlash intensified another major development caught the headlines when Sunrisers Leeds official X account got suspended. While the reasons for suspensions are not known yet but if you visit the page, it says that the account has been suspended for violating X's rules.

There were speculations before the Hundred auctions that there may be a shadow ban on Pakistani players due to the presence of Indian owners. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has to jump in and put on a press release mentioning that The Hundred is an inclusive tournament and there'll be no discrimination against any player based on their nationality.

The Sunrisers Leeds fell in line with the ECB's assurance before the auctions, but it has got their SRH's management in a tangle as their major brand IPL has taken a hit, and it could even have a long-lasting impact on their brand image going forward into the IPL.