Rajeev Shukla Clarifies BCCI’s Position on Abrar Ahmed Joining Sunrisers Leeds

The Vice-President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rajeev Shukla, has shared his opinion on the recent signing of Abrar Ahmed by Sunrisers Leeds in the historic Hundred auction. He said the reported signing does not come under the jurisdiction of the BCCI, as the Hundred is a foreign league governed by the ECB.

The signing of Abrar Ahmed made headlines yesterday, as the Pakistan mystery spinner was bought by Sunrisers Leeds at a whopping budget of £190,000. The news immediately attracted the attention of the Indian cricket fans, who slammed the franchise on social media for making this decision.

Addressing the controversy, the Vice-President of the BCCI, Rajeev Shukla, has now shared his thoughts, calling the decision as a matter only related to the Sunrisers’ preferences in a foreign league. He said the BCCI cannot say much on this, as the Hundred is not under their jurisdiction like the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Our domain is limited to the IPL. We are not concerned by what is happening in other leagues. 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,” said Rajeev Shukla while talking to the reporters.

“It is not in our domain (IPL); they have done it for some foreign league. They will have to take a call; we cannot do anything,” added Rajeev Shukla.

Before the Hundred auction, many people were speculating that Indian-owned franchises would not bid for Pakistan players. However, the courageous and smart move by Sunrisers Leeds quashed all those rumors, stating that it is open to sign any player that possesses qualities to win matches.

Besides Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq also got a big deal at the Hundred auction, as he was signed by Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000. It would be interesting to see how both these players will perform in the upcoming season, as it would be their first ever appearance in the league.