Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has sparked widespread criticism online after saying that Sunrisers Leeds’ signing of Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed "indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians," in a column for the Indian newspaper Mid-Day. 

 

Abrar was signed in last week’s The Hundred auction. 

 

Sunrisers Leeds is owned by the Sun Group, which also owns Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. IPL teams have not signed Pakistani players since 2009 as the two arch-rivals face off politically and militarily. 

 

Gavaskar wrote, "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."

 

Abrar Ahmed was signed for £190,000, roughly 71.2 million Pakistani rupees, making him one of only two Pakistani players selected in the auction.

 

Many users criticised Gavaskar for his comments, with posts quickly circulating on social media. 

 

One user wrote, "Unfortunate statement from a cricketer of his calibre. I thought he would speak for keeping cricket away from politics." 

 

Another said, "How come this logic is not applied when India plays Pakistan in ICC tournaments? Does the appearance money there go to charity?" A different comment read, "I could never imagine that Sunil Gavaskar would turn out to be so narrow minded."

 

Some called his remarks offensive and harmful to his legacy. One post stated, "Old fool should keep his racism to himself. Good way to destroy his own legacy." Another user commented, "Sick mentality of all, no need to discuss."

 

It is worth noting that a total of 13 Pakistani players were listed in the men’s auction after pace bowler Shaheen Afridi withdrew. Interest from the eight teams narrowed that number down to just five players who were actually put up for bidding. 

 

Notably, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, and Saim Ayub did not receive any bids when they were made available for sale.

 

Apart from Abrar, Birmingham Phoenix bought Usman Tariq for £140,000.