'Is Winning A Tournament More Important Than Indian Lives?'

'Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian, then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties.'

Sunil Gavaskar slammed Sunrisers Hyderabad after their franchise in the UK's The Hundred Sunrisers Leeds bought Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed at the players auction last week.

The Chennai-based Sun Group, who had bought IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 425 crore in 2012, purchased Yorkshire-based Northern Superchargers in a deal worth 100 million pounds before renaming it Sunrisers Leeds ahead of the 2026 season of The Hundred.

Sunrisers Leeds signed Ahmed for 190,000 pounds (approximately Rs 2.34 crore) -- marking one of the rare occasions in recent years where a franchise with Indian ownership has signed a Pakistani cricketer.

An angry Gavaskar said the payment made to the Pakistan player could 'indirectly contribute to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians'.

'The furore created by the acquisition of a Pakistani player by the Indian owner of a franchise in The Hundred is hardly surprising,' Gavaskar noted in his column for Mumbai's Mid-Day newspaper.

'Ever since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, Indian franchise owners have simply ignored Pakistani players for the IPL.

'Although belated, the realisation that the fees that they pay to a Pakistani player, who then pays income tax to his government which buys arms and weapons, indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians is making Indian entities refrain from even considering having Pakistani artistes and sportspersons.'

'The owner should have had an understanding of the situation'

'Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian, then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties. It's as simple as that,' Gavaskar wrote.

'Daniel Vettori, the coach of the team in The Hundred who hails from New Zealand, may not understand this simple dynamic, and so may have wanted some Pakistani players in his team, but surely the owner should have had an understanding of the situation and discouraged the purchase.

'Is winning a tournament in a format that no other country plays in much more important than Indian lives? Gavaskar asked.

Gavaskar warned Sunrisers that the franchise could face fan protests and boycotts during IPL 2026, sif the SRH owners don't reverse their decision.

'It won't be a surprise that for every game that this team plays, whether at home or away there will be massive demonstrations by Indian fans protesting at this hard-to-believe buying. In fact, it won't be a surprise that despite having some of the most attractive stroke makers in their team the crowds may stay away and show their disapproval of the decision. There's still time to undo the wrong and hopefully wiser counsel will prevail,' Gavaskar wrote.

Sunrisers faced outrage from Indians fans after buying Ahmed.

Much of the outrage stems from controversial social media posts shared by Ahmed in mid-2025. During a period of heightened cross-border tensions, Abrar reportedly posted content that Indian fans claim mocked the Indian armed forces.

Soon after news of the signing emerged, hashtags such as #ShameOnSRH and #BoycottSunrisers began trending on X.

• IPL 2026