Indore, (March 13) Spiritual leader and orator Aniruddhacharya has criticised Kavya Maran, co-owner of Sunrisers Leeds, for buying Pakistani leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed in the inaugural men's Hundred auction in 2026, and questioned why Indians have such a strong affinity for Pakistan.
Sunrisers Leeds, owned by the same group that runs Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), bought the 27-year-old leg-spinner for £190,000.
Speaking to IANS at the 'Sanatan Premier League' in Indore, Aniruddhacharya said, "They (Pakistan) will use that money to harm us, after paying taxes. The money should remain within our country. India should become self-reliant, 'Aatmnirbhar Bharat'. There should be Indian cricketers instead of Pakistani cricketers. Why do you love them so much, Pakistan, when you ask about their religion before killing? These young Indian cricketers playing here should be selected."
While emphasizing that the 'Sanatan Premier League' is happening for the first time, the spiritual leader said, "Other cricket leagues were already happening, so why not this one?"
He also added that events like this help children move towards a bright future.
"Lord Krishna also played the game of 'gyaan'. We all should play sports, this will keep us healthy."
He asserted that religious leaders do everything in favour of the country.
"Children from villages who were not known to anyone, have got a platform here. Religious leaders have arranged such a beautiful event, it will certainly be beneficial for the future of these children. These children will then be able to serve the nation with the money they earn through this."
Meanwhile, Sunrisers Leeds' X account was suspended hours after the IPL franchise completed the signing of Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed during The Hundred 2026 auction held on Thursday.
Abrar became the first Pakistani player signed by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament.
The move to sign Abrar didn't go down well with fans, who took to X to criticise the IPL team's owner and the franchise, terming them "anti-national".
Nearly hours after the IPL team signed Abrar for 190,000 pounds (Rs 2.3 crore), Sunrisers Leeds’ official X account was suspended.
While the social media platform X hasn’t provided a specific reason, users attempting to access the account are met with a pop-up message, saying, “Social media account suspended. X suspends accounts that violate the microblogging site's rules."
No Pakistani player has featured in the IPL since 2009, and IPL franchise owners, who have invested in franchise T20 leagues worldwide, have generally avoided signing cricketers from the country.