SunRisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran has been heavily in the news since opting for Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for their sister franchise SunRisers Leeds in the Hundred Men's Auction 2026 that took place on March 12, Thursday in the United Kingdom.
Even as fans have called for boycotting SRH in IPL 2026, reports have also claimed that Reliance Jio are planning to pull out due to a Pakistani player part of the SunRisers franchise.
Is Reliance Jio pulling out as the sponsor of the SunRisers Hyderabad?
A few unverified reports have claimed that Reliance Jio, the telecom giant, has withdrawn themselves as the sponsor of the SunRisers Hyderabad but there seems to be no truth to it as there is no official communication regarding the same. The telecom giant, who was unveiled as one of the sponsors alongside BKT tyres, Kent Mineral RO Water Purifiers, Avon Cycles and JSW Paints among others ahead of IPL 2025, is set to continue for another season.
'There wasn't a discussion about not picking Pakistan players' - SunRisers Leeds coach Daniel Vettori
SunRisers Leeds coach Daniel Vettori broke silence on acquiring Abrar Ahmed by claiming that there wasn't any discussion about not going for a Pakistani player. The former New Zealand cricketer feels Abrar brings in the mystery factor, stating not many English players would have seen him. He said, as quoted by The Hindustan Times:
'We just planned for everyone who was in the auction. There wasn't a discussion about not picking Pakistan players. It was just a matter of who was the best option. After we missed out on Adil Rashid, the priority was going to get a spin bowler, and we didn't think that quality was in the local market, so we had to jump overseas. Rishad Hussain, Usman Tariq, and Abrar Ahmed were all guys that were on our radar. It's a bit of a mystery. I don't think many English players have seen him, and he recently played in that Australian series. The feedback from the Australian guys was that he was going to be tricky to face, a lot of variations and an ability to strike in the powerplay, and still through the middle stages, which I think is a key requirement at Headingley.'
The Men's Hundred 2025 was won by The Oval Invincibles.