Sunrisers recruitment in The Hundred not in BCCI's domain – Rajeev Shukla

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has clarified its position on the Sunrisers' recruitment of Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred. The franchise faces criticism for picking a Pakistani player for its subsidiary side, Sunrisers Leeds, in England. The BCCI stated the matter does not fall within its domain.

"Our domain is limited to the IPL. We have nothing to do with what they do in a league outside that. How can we interfere with them signing a player in a foreign league? That's up to them. It's purely up to the franchise that has bought a team outside India. If they are taking some player outside India in that league, we are least concerned because, in the IPL, there is no such player," said Rajeev Shukla, the BCCI vice-president.

The franchise bought Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred auction in London for £190,000 (approximately INR 2.34 crore). The Hyderabad IPL team has remained quiet, unofficially maintaining it received no instructions from authorities regarding recruiting Pakistani players. This is not the first time an Indian-owned franchise has signed a Pakistani player for its overseas team.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 2016 champions, open their IPL campaign on March 28 in Bengaluru against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.