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Sunrisers Leeds and Birmingham Phoenix secured Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq respectively, in the latest Hundred auction [Update@Post#34]

Which college did he go to.. Kavya went top college of Chennai but i agree overall on your point
Not sure actually.

And he did do Exec MBA don't think you need GMAT for that can just apply and pay.

So maybe not correct comparison.
 
Chennai, From affluent family of SUN TV network, Political dynasty of Marans.

She was brilliant as a student.. irrespective of being super rich

That’s <700km from Magalore, which is Ashwariya Rai country, there must be something in the waters between the two places.

Rich kids who are still this motivated like a Chris Eubank Jnr have my respect
 
The sad thing is, it is an English League and not the IPL, this guy wants India to have complete autonomy in a foreign league too. which is messed up.

Gotta give the owners their kudos, this is a ballsy move considering the amount of right wing psychos that will bombard them now and I am sure they knew that too
Not abrar fault...he was going for 180k to trent rockets
 
SRH getting extra hate because of the Tea fantastic bakch"di of Abrar
Yeah and I don’t blame them. It’s childish and these immature idiots need to move on from that. Someone makes a tea reference once every month and it’s so damn annoying. What is more annoying is the comments of laugh emojis and the word Shrup under it. They need to touch grass
 
Possible. But donations aside, a lot of B Schools grab these kids because they know they’ll be tycoons themselves one day.

My B School had the daughter of a billionaire Indian IT guy. She still had to work her a$$ off. It’s a 21 month mindfxxx.
Most of the times, it's the donations for these rich kids
 
As per Indian media, Indians have gone bonkers

The 2026 Hundred auction has sparked significant controversy following Sunrisers Leeds' historic decision to sign Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 (\approx ₹2.34 crore). While the deal marks the first time an Indian-owned franchise has signed a Pakistani player in the tournament, it has triggered a fierce backlash from Indian fans who labeled the move "anti-national" and "disgraceful." Critics, specifically targeting owner Kavya Maran, have called for a boycott of the Sunrisers' IPL counterpart, citing Abrar's alleged past social media conduct and prioritizing business over national sentiment. This intense scrutiny stands in stark contrast to Usman Tariq’s quieter £140,000 move to Birmingham Phoenix, which avoided such vitriol due to the team's local UK ownership.
 
Possible. But donations aside, a lot of B Schools grab these kids because they know they’ll be tycoons themselves one day.

My B School had the daughter of a billionaire Indian IT guy. She still had to work her a$$ off. It’s a 21 month mindfxxx.
Not sure where you are getting Stern from, I think she is from Warwick.. in anycase enough discussed about her..but i agree its tough to clear B schools.
 
As per Indian media, Indians have gone bonkers

The 2026 Hundred auction has sparked significant controversy following Sunrisers Leeds' historic decision to sign Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 (\approx ₹2.34 crore). While the deal marks the first time an Indian-owned franchise has signed a Pakistani player in the tournament, it has triggered a fierce backlash from Indian fans who labeled the move "anti-national" and "disgraceful." Critics, specifically targeting owner Kavya Maran, have called for a boycott of the Sunrisers' IPL counterpart, citing Abrar's alleged past social media conduct and prioritizing business over national sentiment. This intense scrutiny stands in stark contrast to Usman Tariq’s quieter £140,000 move to Birmingham Phoenix, which avoided such vitriol due to the team's local UK ownership.
Best publicity.. well done got both Indians and Pakistanis into it.. B school mindset lol
 
Yeah and I don’t blame them. It’s childish and these immature idiots need to move on from that. Someone makes a tea reference once every month and it’s so damn annoying. What is more annoying is the comments of laugh emojis and the word Shrup under it. They need to touch grass
That won't happen unless India and Pak have a stable phase of good relations. You know how it is with "the point scoring" everywhere on the internet.
 
Ali Tareen did an MBA from Oxford.

We can't read too much into these things.

Cop out. I see online that he did an EMBA (not an MBA) and that too from Kellogg College at Oxford (NOT the Said School).

If true, it’s the B School equivalent of playing in the County Second XI
and saying you played cricket for England. :kp
 
As per Indian media, Indians have gone bonkers

The 2026 Hundred auction has sparked significant controversy following Sunrisers Leeds' historic decision to sign Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 (\approx ₹2.34 crore). While the deal marks the first time an Indian-owned franchise has signed a Pakistani player in the tournament, it has triggered a fierce backlash from Indian fans who labeled the move "anti-national" and "disgraceful." Critics, specifically targeting owner Kavya Maran, have called for a boycott of the Sunrisers' IPL counterpart, citing Abrar's alleged past social media conduct and prioritizing business over national sentiment. This intense scrutiny stands in stark contrast to Usman Tariq’s quieter £140,000 move to Birmingham Phoenix, which avoided such vitriol due to the team's local UK ownership.
Surely more people will now know about the hundred due to this
 
Lets keep it to cricket. The whole Mustafizur saga is ridiculous. Banning Pakistan players due to politics / terrorist attacks or whatsoever seemed logical. And from a financial perspective, IPL being an Indian league carries much risk by picking Pakistani players. But, releasing Fizz due to some propaganda is mixing two different things. We may had political differences but we aren't at war with Bangladesh and banning their cricketers is wrong in IPL.

Else, what is the difference between that Orange nut job Trump and us??

As far as picking Abrar is concerned , people are entitled to their own opinions but not hurling abuses. Some people may not like it but that doesnt mean we should hate it.

I dont like Abrar’s antics but abusing Sun-risers for picking him in and English league doesn't make sense.

But Sunrisers have really bad reputation in making their bowling line-up😁
I dont rate Abrar TBH but there is a dearth in quality spinners now.
 
The manufactured meltdown from media ‘personalities’ is amusing for sure.

Let me guess how it will go. First a criticism of Sunrisers, then the Maran family, and then it will descend into insinuations about Tamil loyalty to India, lol.

Before some next sensation overtakes it and we move on.
 
Good stuff with Abrar. Looks like Indian owned franchises in The Hundred will pick PAK players after all.

We can fairly say that Rauf's value has diminished.

The shocker for me is still Tim Seifert not getting picked
Manchester picked up Seifert later on
 
The Fizz move by BCCI was dumb. Only thing dumber was Bangladesh cutting off their nose to spite the face and Pakistan boards comedy.

However this seems like an attempt at normalization so only thing dumber than the above events will be now removing Abrar due to some random social media outrage: the average Indian fan doesn’t care about the hundred. So who cares, who picked whom in the hundred.I won’t watch the 100 even if you play Bumrah, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma in it. Maybe I will watch it out of curiosity if that happens but you get the point lol.
 
Bhai Oxford main Oxford Brookes bhi hai...seen enough CVs I'm life where headline is Oxford educated, small prints Oxford Brookes.... Indian and Pakistani and Lankan. TBF no jammati CVs ever crossed my desk
:ROFLMAO:
He went to Oxford main. I checked this out too because I couldn’t believe it myself. How he conned his way in is amazing!
 
The Fizz move by BCCI was dumb. Only thing dumber was Bangladesh cutting off their nose to spite the face and Pakistan boards comedy.

However this seems like an attempt at normalization so only thing dumber than the above events will be now removing Abrar due to some random social media outrage: the average Indian fan doesn’t care about the hundred. So who cares, who picked whom in the hundred.I won’t watch the 100 even if you play Bumrah, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma in it. Maybe I will watch it out of curiosity if that happens but you get the point lol.
It seems like that is the consensus amongst Indians on PP at least.

One thing I have wondered it why these Indian owners have paid big money for these teams and rebranded them to be Indian focussed with pictures of elephants etc. There isn't enough market in England to recoup these costs. They are obviously aiming at Indian market. Do you think it is a misjudgment on their part, or they will be able to grow the 100 without Indians?
 
The Fizz move by BCCI was dumb. Only thing dumber was Bangladesh cutting off their nose to spite the face and Pakistan boards comedy.

However this seems like an attempt at normalization so only thing dumber than the above events will be now removing Abrar due to some random social media outrage: the average Indian fan doesn’t care about the hundred. So who cares, who picked whom in the hundred.I won’t watch the 100 even if you play Bumrah, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma in it. Maybe I will watch it out of curiosity if that happens but you get the point lol.
They can’t remove now.. they will be in legal trouble
 
As per Indian media, Indians have gone bonkers

The 2026 Hundred auction has sparked significant controversy following Sunrisers Leeds' historic decision to sign Pakistani mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for £190,000 (\approx ₹2.34 crore). While the deal marks the first time an Indian-owned franchise has signed a Pakistani player in the tournament, it has triggered a fierce backlash from Indian fans who labeled the move "anti-national" and "disgraceful." Critics, specifically targeting owner Kavya Maran, have called for a boycott of the Sunrisers' IPL counterpart, citing Abrar's alleged past social media conduct and prioritizing business over national sentiment. This intense scrutiny stands in stark contrast to Usman Tariq’s quieter £140,000 move to Birmingham Phoenix, which avoided such vitriol due to the team's local UK ownership.
and these indians that post on PP are not anti national?
 
Very good by Kavya Maaran and Sunrisers Leeds. They shouldn't worry about some idiots posting drivel on social media. They already have huge support for their team from Andhra and Telangana. Also like me people from TN will have them as their second best after CSK due to their obvious Chennai connections.
 
It seems like that is the consensus amongst Indians on PP at least.

One thing I have wondered it why these Indian owners have paid big money for these teams and rebranded them to be Indian focussed with pictures of elephants etc. There isn't enough market in England to recoup these costs. They are obviously aiming at Indian market. Do you think it is a misjudgment on their part, or they will be able to grow the 100 without Indians?

These Indian companies are not owned by some local rice mill owner etc like in PSL. These are conglomerates. For example sunrisers is owned by a media corporation that’s worth a few billion dollars. These opportunities gives them market penetration. Also England is a huge legal betting market so every sporting event is marketed. This is not 1950 business strategy where how many tickets sold at the gate and popcorn sold is the only revenue stream.Yes India is the largest market for cricket so a large chunk of the viewers might be Indians but that’s a subset of a subset of a subset,

The Ambanis for example have investment and sponsorship in every sport in India. Do you think it’s about their love for sport or because people watch them and they will make $$$$. Not at all. If they somehow get a foot in the door through other sports, it can help with their lobbying for the Olympics. The 1987 cricket World Cup was called the Reliance World Cup and now they want to bring the Olympics.

So long story short- no, the average Indian person who watches IPL etc and has other forms of entertainment will not watch the hundred.

The purist cricket fans like me who think this is garbage (sure there a few of those from Pak as well) will anyways not watch this.

Maybe some one will tune in out of curiosity.A few cricket nerds and social media folks will follow it for reach. That’s about it.

Do you really think these guys are investing due to demand for the hundred from Indian audience?
 
These Indian companies are not owned by some local rice mill owner etc like in PSL. These are conglomerates. For example sunrisers is owned by a media corporation that’s worth a few billion dollars. These opportunities gives them market penetration. Also England is a huge legal betting market so every sporting event is marketed. This is not 1950 business strategy where how many tickets sold at the gate and popcorn sold is the only revenue stream.Yes India is the largest market for cricket so a large chunk of the viewers might be Indians but that’s a subset of a subset of a subset,

The Ambanis for example have investment and sponsorship in every sport in India. Do you think it’s about their love for sport or because people watch them and they will make $$$$. Not at all. If they somehow get a foot in the door through other sports, it can help with their lobbying for the Olympics. The 1987 cricket World Cup was called the Reliance World Cup and now they want to bring the Olympics.

So long story short- no, the average Indian person who watches IPL etc and has other forms of entertainment will not watch the hundred.

The purist cricket fans like me who think this is garbage (sure there a few of those from Pak as well) will anyways not watch this.

Maybe some one will tune in out of curiosity.A few cricket nerds and social media folks will follow it for reach. That’s about it.

Do you really think these guys are investing due to demand for the hundred from Indian audience?
One of the most informative posts i have ever seen by an indian.

I like it when suchs posts comes. Great insight
 
She won’t do something like this without consulting the BCCI after the fiasco from a few months back. You are making it seem like some revolutionary move. It was definitely discussed and approved before with all concerned powers. Obviously BCCI also wants to move on and normalize as eventually many such conflicts will be unavoidable as these companies seem to own franchises in every damn league. Indian players are already not allowed.
 
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These Indian companies are not owned by some local rice mill owner etc like in PSL. These are conglomerates. For example sunrisers is owned by a media corporation that’s worth a few billion dollars. These opportunities gives them market penetration. Also England is a huge legal betting market so every sporting event is marketed. This is not 1950 business strategy where how many tickets sold at the gate and popcorn sold is the only revenue stream.Yes India is the largest market for cricket so a large chunk of the viewers might be Indians but that’s a subset of a subset of a subset,

The Ambanis for example have investment and sponsorship in every sport in India. Do you think it’s about their love for sport or because people watch them and they will make $$$$. Not at all. If they somehow get a foot in the door through other sports, it can help with their lobbying for the Olympics. The 1987 cricket World Cup was called the Reliance World Cup and now they want to bring the Olympics.

So long story short- no, the average Indian person who watches IPL etc and has other forms of entertainment will not watch the hundred.

The purist cricket fans like me who think this is garbage (sure there a few of those from Pak as well) will anyways not watch this.

Maybe some one will tune in out of curiosity.A few cricket nerds and social media folks will follow it for reach. That’s about it.

Do you really think these guys are investing due to demand for the hundred from Indian audience?
I don't think the market in England is big enough to have ROI on these investments. Ultimately it seems the long term plan from the owners is access to Indian players and eyeballs from Indian audience. India is the only place that makes enough money in cricket to justify such an investment. I'm not sure what other market penetration they can get from these investments, that they couldn't get by investing in bigger sports in the UK or abroad.
 
She won’t do something like this without consulting the BCCI after the fiasco from a few months back. You are making it seem like some revolutionary move. It was definitely discussed and approved before with all concerned powers. Obviously BCCI also wants to move on and normalize as eventually many such conflicts will be unavoidable as these companies seem to own franchises in every damn league. Indian players are already not allowed.
Wrong read again. DMK has not issues pissing off India BCCI as a whole.
 
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Obviously BCCI also wants to move on and normalize as eventually many such conflicts will be unavoidable as these companies seem to own franchises in every damn league. Indian players are already not allowed.
Bcci will like to settle any unavoidable ones.even now pak has 2 very good and 1/2 decent players to pick at league level.another 2 years down the lane, there may be none.waiting 2 more years for the issue to get resolved peacefully is much more common sense.
 
I don't think the market in England is big enough to have ROI on these investments. Ultimately it seems the long term plan from the owners is access to Indian players and eyeballs from Indian audience. India is the only place that makes enough money in cricket to justify such an investment. I'm not sure what other market penetration they can get from these investments, that they couldn't get by investing in bigger sports in the UK or abroad.

Lmao, kuch bhi,Indian players are not allowed in any outside cricket leagues except if they retire officially from cricket and IPL.

All these businesses already own franchises in other leagues and they won’t force their own Indian player to retire to play in some other league and vialote BCCI rules.max they will get is a recently retired mid tier Indian cricketer.

So that option is ruled out


To your 2nd point- Just like Manchester United owners wants a stake of RCB. They have got an in through their investments in ILT20 and the 100, and now are a serious bidder. Otherwise all these years, foreign companies were either invisible partners or not encouraged. That’s how market penetration works.

Won’t be surprised if any of these Indian billionaires buy an English football team in the future.
 
I don't think the market in England is big enough to have ROI on these investments.
As sat20 gathered enough eyeballs and profits, they are confident with eng i think.If they can churn out profits out of dead sa league, they can squeeze any thing. I heard hundread has to be changed to t20 format as per their earlier negotiations. Ultimately they will try to cater to Indian audience and their loyal franchisee base.
 
As sat20 gathered enough eyeballs and profits, they are confident with eng i think.If they can churn out profits out of dead sa league, they can squeeze any thing. I heard hundread has to be changed to t20 format as per their earlier negotiations. Ultimately they will try to cater to Indian audience and their loyal franchisee base.
Has SA20 been profitable for franchises? SA20 has been good for CSA yeah but not sure how it made money for franchises. I have read some are considering selling their shares.

And yeah I agree with last line the ultimate plan seems to be banking on Indian audience for all these international leagues.
 
Has SA20 been profitable for franchises? SA20 has been good for CSA yeah but not sure how it made money for franchises. I have read some are considering selling their shares.

And yeah I agree with last line the ultimate plan seems to be banking on Indian audience for all these international leagues.

As per google,
Market Rumours: While the IPL owners are not selling, there have been reports that other minority partners in the league entity itself—such as broadcaster SuperSport and Indian businessman Sundar Raman—have considered selling their stakes in the competition's governing body.

Even if they are selling their minor stake, its for instant profit . they may not go for full sale as the league valuation is not yet saturated and it has the potential to grow.
 
Yeah but I thought it would happen in the first round itself . He was really good last season of the Hundred and in the T20 World Cup + a good keeper
Might be NZ's best and most consistent batsman based on current form right now. He's a good player. He has been around since 2018 or so but in the last year he has really turned it around.
 
there is a long history and you probably don't have the intellectual curiosity to grasp it.
so i dont have the intellectual capacity to grasp it, but meanwhile u indians are having a meltdown over a pakistani being picked in an English league
 
so i dont have the intellectual capacity to grasp it, but meanwhile u indians are having a meltdown over a pakistani being picked in an English league
Today I have learned some very interesting, historical cultural history of India based on ancestry and heritage just because Abrar was picked in the Hundred :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Today I have learned some very interesting, historical cultural history of India based on ancestry and heritage just because Abrar was picked in the Hundred :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
the history lessons here have become hilarious. the melt down.
 
the history lessons here have become hilarious. the melt down.
It’s too funny

I think Indians are reading too much into this. I suppose it was Vitori and possibly Harry Brook (their captain) who asked the owners to get them a top quality spinner to compete. Kavya isn’t a cricket expert, she is just following the directives of her coach and skipper

Brook might have even told them to get Rauf because they are friends from Qalandars days but that’s where she may have put her foot down because Rauf did go overboard with his gestures in the Asia cup.

The other question is that if she was going to go for a mystery spinner (regardless of ethnicity), then why didn’t she bid for Usman Tariq? This is something that interests me. Maybe Sunrisers feel Tariq at any point in the future can be called up by some random umpire and that’s their investment gone down the drain?
 
It’s too funny

I think Indians are reading too much into this. I suppose it was Vitori and possibly Harry Brook (their captain) who asked the owners to get them a top quality spinner to compete. Kavya isn’t a cricket expert, she is just following the directives of her coach and skipper

Brook might have even told them to get Rauf because they are friends from Qalandars days but that’s where she may have put her foot down because Rauf did go overboard with his gestures in the Asia cup.

The other question is that if she was going to go for a mystery spinner (regardless of ethnicity), then why didn’t she bid for Usman Tariq? This is something that interests me. Maybe Sunrisers feel Tariq at any point in the future can be called up by some random umpire and that’s their investment gone down the drain?
He didnt called up in icc tournament...... why he called up in league plus his action is legal...
 
It’s too funny

I think Indians are reading too much into this. I suppose it was Vitori and possibly Harry Brook (their captain) who asked the owners to get them a top quality spinner to compete. Kavya isn’t a cricket expert, she is just following the directives of her coach and skipper

Brook might have even told them to get Rauf because they are friends from Qalandars days but that’s where she may have put her foot down because Rauf did go overboard with his gestures in the Asia cup.

The other question is that if she was going to go for a mystery spinner (regardless of ethnicity), then why didn’t she bid for Usman Tariq? This is something that interests me. Maybe Sunrisers feel Tariq at any point in the future can be called up by some random umpire and that’s their investment gone down the drain?
Another very interesting angle to this too…

If Sunrisers were going to go for a mystery spinner, they could have also hinted to Ghazanfar from Afghanistan that they will be going in for him. He can do the role Abrar does (maybe not as effective), but he is a very decent bowling option. Ghazanfar pulled out of the draft the night before just like Afridi, DeQock, Narine.


This is a very interesting case study. Abrar was their prime target in this draft. They went all in for him!
 
oh ok, so u must have raised these issues before Abrar got selected? Maybe when they bought Hyderabad franchise?
Iam not objecting to whatever they do. its none of my business. Am just stating to ur question that they care about profits than anything else.
 
Iam not objecting to whatever they do. its none of my business. Am just stating to ur question that they care about profits than anything else.
They have not even opted for women's ipl franchise saying it may be a loss venture.so they are businessman at the end.
 
It’s too funny

I think Indians are reading too much into this. I suppose it was Vitori and possibly Harry Brook (their captain) who asked the owners to get them a top quality spinner to compete. Kavya isn’t a cricket expert, she is just following the directives of her coach and skipper

Brook might have even told them to get Rauf because they are friends from Qalandars days but that’s where she may have put her foot down because Rauf did go overboard with his gestures in the Asia cup.

The other question is that if she was going to go for a mystery spinner (regardless of ethnicity), then why didn’t she bid for Usman Tariq? This is something that interests me. Maybe Sunrisers feel Tariq at any point in the future can be called up by some random umpire and that’s their investment gone down the drain?
Abrar is better than tariq. Alot of people and hesson went overboard with tariq due to indian media. Tariqs biggest flaw is his lack of pace. If a batter adjusts his trigger movement against Tariq, than Tariq is a gonner.

Abrar knows his variations .

Tariq I believe will make a name for himself based on 2 or 3 league performance and will become a sohail tanvir and forever play on reputation. But abrar is the real deal.

Like he had kohli being troubled that forced kohli to play him out.
 
Another very interesting angle to this too…

If Sunrisers were going to go for a mystery spinner, they could have also hinted to Ghazanfar from Afghanistan that they will be going in for him. He can do the role Abrar does (maybe not as effective), but he is a very decent bowling option. Ghazanfar pulled out of the draft the night before just like Afridi, DeQock, Narine.


This is a very interesting case study. Abrar was their prime target in this draft. They went all in for him!
Ghazanfar has been a flop ever since he got injured. His debut series was amazing, but than after that injury, he hasnt been the same.

He seems to miss his lengths now.
 
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