Hundred auction: Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed signed by Sunrisers Leeds
Neither of the two Pakistan international players in the women’s auction were bought on Wednesday, after coaches from Hundreds of teams linked to IPL franchises told BBC Sport they had not been instructed to avoid Pakistani players.
There were 13 Pakistani players in the men’s auction following the withdrawal of pace bowler Shaheen Afridi; Based on interest from eight teams, this number was reduced to five.
None of Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan or Saim Ayub received bids when they were put up for sale on Thursday morning, but they were able to rejoin the auction later in the day.
Spinner Usman Tariq, the star of the last T20 World Cup, has been the subject of bids from Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets, two franchises that are not affiliated with the IPL. Tariq was eventually bought by Phoenix for £140,000.
In the morning’s final sale, Abrar received offers from Sunrisers and Rockets after entering with a base price of £75,000.
“He’s unique in terms of diversity and a lot of people, especially domestic players, won’t have seen him before,” Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori told BBC Sport.
Former New Zealand international Vettori said he was “aware” of speculation about Pakistani players but had not been instructed to refrain from signing contracts with them.
“We participated in the auction with all the players we had,” Vettori said. “As soon as this option became available, a lot of good spinners from international teams emerged as an option, but Abrar was a priority.”
The auctions mark the final stage in The Hundred’s revamp following the sale of stakes in eight teams last year.
Collectively, franchises invest just over £7 million in wages each year in the women’s competition and over £16 million a year in the men’s competition.
For some owners, entering The Hundred means further increasing their portfolio of teams in franchise leagues around the world, while all investors are looking for a return on their spending through commercial deals, ticket sales and TV rights.
