New Delhi: In a rare occasion when a Pakistani cricketer is picked by an Indian Premier League (IPL)-backed team, the signing of Abrar Ahmed in the hundred-man auction could put the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a bind as the spinner’s availability could conflict with Pakistan’s bilateral tour commitments.
After a bidding war with Trent Rockets, Abrar was acquired by Sunrisers Leeds, a team controlled by the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, for £190,000 (approximately PKR 70 million), becoming the first Indian team to sign a Pakistani player since 2009. No current Pakistani player has previously played for a Sunrisers-backed team in the IPL or SA20.
However, the mystery spinner may not be granted a no-objection certificate (NOC) as the Pakistan national cricket team is scheduled to tour the West Indies for a two-match Test series during the hundred-plus window.
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Pakistan will play a two-Test series against West Indies. The tour is scheduled to take place from July 15 to August 7, including two test matches and four days of warm-up matches. Meanwhile, the “Festival of 100” will last for four weeks, starting on July 21st and ending on August 16th.
Ahead of the auction, there was considerable scrutiny over whether IPL-related franchises would bid for Pakistani players, though all eight teams had earlier promised before the auction to make selections based solely on “performance, availability and the needs of each team.” The ECB and the team subsequently issued a joint statement emphasizing that players cannot be excluded from the top 100 competition because of their nationality.
However, TimesofIndia.com has learned that the 27-year-old may not get an NOC from PCB.
“Considering that Pakistan are playing a two-match Test series against West Indies, he may not feature in the hundred,” a source tracking the development told the website.
Abrar is not Pakistan’s leading spinner in Tests, with Noman Ali and Sajid Khan also in the squad. However, he still needs approval from PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Abrar’s earnings from the Hundred will easily rank among the top eight highest earners in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
“It’s a big amount of money. His agent has put his name in the auction, which means he is confident of getting the NOC. He is also one of the few Pakistani cricketers who has a good rapport with the PCB chairman at the moment. The chances of him playing in The Hundred are 50-50,” PCB sources said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori explained the team’s reasons for bidding for the 27-year-old.
“Once we missed out on Adil Rashid, who was an early priority, we obviously jumped into the overseas spinner category,” Vettori said after the auction. “We have four or five players and Abra is one of them. We are happy to get him.”
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Vettori also highlighted that apart from Abrar, another enigmatic Pakistani spinner Usman Tariq is also on their radar.
“We have plans for everyone who comes to the auction. After we missed out on Adil Rashid, our first priority was to get a spin bowler and we felt there was no such quality available in the local market so we had to go overseas. Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed are the players we are looking at.
“It’s a bit of a mystery. I don’t think many English players have faced him and he’s played in the Australia series recently. The feedback from Australian players is that he’s difficult to face, has a lot of variety and has the ability to attack in the powerplay and in the middle order, which is a key requirement at Headingley. The spinners are the ones who are really going to be successful there. Having him there will make a big difference for us.”
Apart from Abrar, Usman Tariq was another Pakistani cricketer who was bought at The Hundred auction, bought by Birmingham Phoenix for 140,000 pounds (approximately PKR 5.21 crore). Phoenix has no IPL connections. Pakistan pacer Harish Rauf, opener Syam Ayub and all-rounder Shadab Khan were unsold. Experienced left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi had earlier withdrawn from the auction. Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal, the only two Pakistani players in the women’s hundred-strong auction on Wednesday, also failed to sell.
