Daniel Vettori, former New Zealand captain and head coach of Sunrisers Leeds, has explained why the franchise focused on signing the services of the Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for The Hundred 2026 during the draft.
Speaking to a British sports platform after the draft which was held at Piccadilly Lights in London, Vettori mentioned the mystery spinner’s rare skill-set and the tough time batters have when they see his variations for the first time.
According to the former left-arm spinner, Abrar’s unpredictability was the main factor that made him stand out from a range of international spin options in the draft pool.
Vettori said the franchise came to the draft with various options, but soon the Pakistani bowler became a high priority.
He said Abrar’s wide variety of variations and the fact that many of the domestic batters in England have not faced him before made him an attractive option for the upcoming tournament.
“Abrar Ahmed is unique in the amount of variations he’s got and a lot of domestic players won’t have seen him before,” Vettori said.
He added that despite the availability of a number of quality international spinners during the draft, the franchise took the decision early on to bag Abrar when the opportunity arose.
One of the notable signs of the draft was the signing of the 27-year-old spinner by Sunrisers Leeds, which is a franchise associated with the Indian Premier League and is owned by Kavya Maran.
Abrar was then signed for £190,000 in a bidding battle with Trent Rockets.
Earlier in the draft, Birmingham Phoenix had picked Pakistan leg-spinner Usman Tariq for £140,000 which made him the first Pakistani to be picked.
However the draft proved disappointing to several other Pakistani stars. Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Saim Ayub remained unsold even in the last round.
The 2026 edition of The Hundred will take place between July 21st and August 16th and will begin with a London derby – MI London vs Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval.
Also read: BCCI distances itself from Pakistani Abrar Ahmed’s The Hundred deal
