The Indian-owned Sunrisers group are facing a social media backlash after signing Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for their Headingley-based Hundred side.
Deep-seated political tensions between the nations have had an impact on sporting relations, with bilateral series between the rivals on ice since 2007 and Pakistani players frozen out of the Indian Premier League.
There was speculation that the Pakistan contingent involved in this week's inaugural Hundred auction would be subject to a 'shadow ban', with the IPL-affiliated teams refusing to bid for them, but the Headingley-based Sunrisers defied expectations by clinching a deal for leg-spinner Abrar.
With CEO Kavyan Maran sat at the bidding table alongside men's head coach Daniel Vettori, they paid £190,000 for his services after outbidding Trent Rockets, while Usman Tariq was picked up by American-backed Birmingham Phoenix.
While there will have been considerable relief at the England and Wales Cricket Board, which felt compelled to issue a joint statement co-signed by all teams pledging no players would be discriminated against on grounds of nationality, Sunrisers have been subjected to fierce criticism from a section of Indian cricket fans.
With negative comments piling up, the SunrisersLeeds account on X was suspended overnight. As of Friday morning the handle was up and running again with a fresh follower base, but the comments under the posts from the auction focused heavily on Abrar's signing.
The same was true of the club's Instagram feed, while the issue also spilled over onto the accounts of Sunrisers Hyderabad, the IPL parent club.
While there were some supportive words from Pakistani users, there was also a significant amount of critical posts, including some calling for a boycott of Sunrisers and the products of their lead sponsors.
The statement released by the ECB ahead of the auctions said: "The Hundred was established to reach new audiences, grow the game of cricket and ensure that everyone - regardless of their ethnicity, gender, faith, nationality or other - can feel they belong in our sport. This has been a guiding principle from the outset and remains at the heart of everything we do.
"As the governing body responsible for running the tournament, the ECB is committed to ensuring there is no place for discrimination, and has regulations in place to take robust action to tackle any such conduct. Players must not be excluded on the grounds of their nationality."
PA
