
Fears of Pakistani players being frozen out of The Hundred proved unfounded at the inaugural men’s auction where spinner Abrar Ahmed was signed by Indian-owned Sunrisers Leeds and Usman Tariq joined Birmingham Phoenix.
In financial terms, Sussex’s 21-year-old upcoming all-rounder James Coles was the biggest winner as he attracted the deal of the day with a startling £390,000 bid from London Spirit but, in terms of optics, the move by Indian-owned Sunrisers for Abrar was even more profound.