London, March 12 Sunrisers Leeds, owned by the Chennai-based Sun Group, bought mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed during the Hundred player auction on Thursday, making him the first Pakistani player to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise in the tournament.
Sunrisers offered GBP 190,000 (approximately Rs 2.34 crore) to acquire Ahmed's services after a bidding war with Trent Rockets.
His signing also ended speculation that Indian Hundred owners would not bid for Pakistani players, as franchises from the IPL have not engaged them since 2009 due to strained diplomatic relations between the two neighboring nations.
The Sun Group, which also owns Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, completed a full takeover of erstwhile Northern Superchargers last year, buying a 49% stake from the ECB and the remaining 51% from county club Yorkshire for around GBP 100 million. Sunrisers CEO Kavya Maran attended the auction and handled the bidding.
They also own Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 but do not have a Pakistani player on their roster.
Abrar was the second Pakistani player sold during the auction, after another mystery spinner Usman Tariq was bought by Birmingham Phoenix for GBP 140,000 (approximately Rs 1.72 crore).
However, Phoenix have no connection with the IPL. Pakistani pacer Harris Rauf and off-spin all-rounder Saim Ayub were earlier unsold.
The tournament will run from July 21 to August 16.
