Sunrisers Leeds are facing a fierce social media backlash after the Indian-owned Hundred franchise signed spinner Abrar Ahmed this week.

A longstanding political stand-off between India and Pakistan means the two nations only play each other in major global cricket tournaments.

Cricketers from Pakistan have not featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009 because of diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

There was speculation that the players from Pakistan involved in this week’s inaugural Hundred auction in London would be subject to a “shadow ban”, with the IPL-affiliated teams refusing to bid for them.

Four of the franchises — MI London, Manchester Super Giants, Sunrisers Leeds and Southern Brave — are at least part-owned by companies that control IPL teams.

But the Leeds-based Sunrisers clinched a deal for leg-spinner Abrar, paying 190,000 ($252,000) for his services.

Usman Tariq, the only other Pakistani player bought in the auction, was picked up by American-backed Birmingham Phoenix.

The only two Pakistan players in Wednesday’s women’s auction, Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal, went unsold.

The England and Wales Cricket Board last month issued a statement saying all eight of the city-based franchises in the 100-ball-a-side competition were committed to selection based solely on performances.

But Sunrisers have been subjected to fierce criticism from some Indian cricket fans after signing Ahmed.

The @SunrisersLeeds account on X was suspended overnight. It was up and running again on Friday with a fresh follower base, but comments 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, also owned by the Sun Group media conglomerate.

PARIS: Federico Valverde scored an unlikely hat-trick as Real Madrid trounced Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, while holders Paris St-Germain rout Chelsea 5-2.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Premier League leaders Arsenal snatched a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen to preserve their unbeaten record in Europe this season, while Bodo/Glimt continued their fairytale run with a 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s record 15-time European champions avenged their loss to City in the league phase as Valverde struck three times in the first half to hand Real full control of the tie despite the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and several others.

“(It was) incredible, you dream of nights like this,” Valverde told Movistar. “It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a game like this.

“We’ve shown that when the team works together we can achieve big things.”

Valverde ran onto a long kick from Thibaut Courtois and dribbled past Gianluigi Donnarumma to slot home and give Los Blancos the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu against City as the teams met in a knockout tie for the fifth season running.

The Uruguayan midfielder arrowed a low drive into the far corner to double Real’s advantage and then completed his hat-trick with a sublime touch and finish after linking up with Brahim Diaz.

“Valverde becomes a legend,” wrote Madrid newspaper AS. “Following Valverde’s lead, (the team) opted for a heroic defence of the club badge and anthem, of the traditional, generous team, all nerve and heart, to accomplish a feat that might well be historic without even needing a comeback.”

Real defender Trent Alexander-Arnold called Valverde the “most underrated footballer on the planet”.

City could have suffered an ever heavier defeat but Donnarumma saved a second-half penalty from Vinicius after the City goalkeeper brought down the Brazilian.

“I had a feeling that we were better than the result said… but the result is here,” City boss Pep Guardiola told TNT Sports, refusing to write off his team’s chances next week. “In football you never know. We will try.”

Meanwhile, PSG put one foot in the quarter-finals after two late goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the Parc des Princes.

Bradley Barcola fired PSG in front but Malo Gusto’s scruffy effort skipped past Matfei Safonov to bring Chelsea level.

Ousmane Dembele finished off a clinical counter to restore the lead for the hosts before half-time, only for Enzo Fernandez to reply once more for Chelsea after excellent work from Pedro Neto.

A mistake from Filip Jorgensen saw Vitinha lob the Chelsea goalkeeper to put PSG on top for the third time, with Kvaratskhelia hammering in a superb fourth and then potentially applying the fatal blow for Luis Enrique’s side in stoppage time.

“It is a special moment because we are maybe not quite as precise as usual…” said Luis Enrique, whose team have struggled to consistently replicate last season’s form.

“There are all the comparisons with last year but it is impossible to be at that level… we are very resilient, I think that is a word which defines our team.”

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior admitted his team paid the price for losing their composure late on.

“A very disappointing result in an evening where for so much of the game I was really happy. The last 15-20 minutes were crazy,” he said.

“We need to be better with setbacks and we need to stay calm and we didn’t.”

Arsenal leave it late

Despite an unprecedented six English teams featuring in the last 16, not a single one won and only two avoided defeat in Europe this week.

Arsenal needed an 89th-minute penalty from Kai Havertz against his former club to snatch a draw away to Bayer Leverkusen.

Robert Andrich headed in a corner for Leverkusen moments into the second half to leave Arsenal, who won all eight of their league phase matches, staring at defeat in Germany.

But Havertz came off the bench to warm applause in the 74th minute and tucked the penalty past Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich after a foul on Noni Madueke to ensure Arsenal remain favourites to reach the quarter-finals.

“Penalties in the last minutes are not always easy. The time between the whistle and taking the penalty felt like eternity. But in these moments you need to be present,” Havertz told reporters. “These are the moments I’ve worked for for years, to be there in moments like that.

“I know the stadium and I’ve already converted many penalties from this spot. Of course I’m sorry for Leverkusen, but that’s football.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta called Havertz’s last-minute penalty an “extraordinary” tale.

“Football writes crazy stories,” Arteta told reporters. “It’s of course extraordinary that Kai returns here after so many years and converted the penalty. It’s a great story.”

Bodo/Glimt enjoyed another remarkable Champions League night as they swept Portugal’s Sporting aside 3-0 to register their fifth win in a row in the competition.

Sondre Brunstad Fet put Bodo ahead from the penalty spot just after the half-hour mark and Ole Didrik Blomberg made it two in first-half injury time.

Kasper Hogh scored his fifth goal in as many European games with 19 minutes remaining to spark wild celebrations for the Norwegian underdogs.

For Bodo/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen, their triumph was just another step in their amazing Champions League journey.

Asked if the result would send shockwaves through European football, Knutsen was his usual sanguine self, never letting an individual result affect how he sees the progress his club is making.

“I think we’re on a great journey now, and I don’t think we should reflect too much on that right now — I think we should evaluate the game, what was good, what was less good, and then we should work on it,” he told reporters.

“It’s easy to be satisfied when you get to where we are now, and that’s not a trap we should go into. We’ll evaluate what was good and what was less good, and that’s really what we’ve done in good and bad periods,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026

INDIAN WELLS: World number one Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells, beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(7/2), while Jack Draper upset world number three Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7/5) on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.

Alcaraz relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of the match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud’s serve three times.

Thirteenth-seeded Ruud raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, hoping to push the match to a decider, but Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.

“The conditions were difficult to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great,” two-time champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “My first set was incredible I’m really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I’ll play this level on the next round.”

Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2, with the Spaniard looking to avenge a defeat to the Briton at last year’s Paris Masters.

Defending champion Draper claimed one of the biggest wins of his career by beating Djokovic in a deciding-set tie-break after two hours and 35 minutes.

Draper, who trailed after dropping the opener 64, stormed into the second set by breaking Djokovic early and surviving multiple break points before sealing it with aggressive baseline play.

Djokovic won a stunning 26-shot rally at 30-all in the opening game of the decider, but Draper surged to leads of 3-1 and 5-3 before the Serb battled back to 5-5 and then broke the Briton as he served for the match.

The 24-year-old kept his composure, forced the tie-break and dominated it to close out a statement victory.

“I still don’t feel like I’m playing anywhere near the way I want to play,” Draper said. “I came out here tonight and I won that match through determination and trying to problem-solve and do my best and have a great attitude.

“I’m proud of the way I regrouped. I haven’t been playing on the tour (in) a long time, so to put away guys who are top players, it’s something that comes with confidence.”

Draper will next face Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just one hour and 27 minutes to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning last month’s Dubai Open.

SWIATEK, PEGULA THROUGH

World number two Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova, reeling off 10 consecutive games to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the tournament last year.

“I felt I was playing better and better, just great,” Swiatek said. “I love playing here … It’s a great place to play tennis, hopefully I can keep doing that until the end.”

Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured.

“Of course very unlucky for her to finish a tournament like this,” Svitolina said of Siniakova, a former doubles number one who ousted defending champion Mirra Andreeva in the third round.

“For me, it’s a little bit more time to recover for tomorrow’s big match,” said the 31-year-old who has lost four of five prior encounters with Swiatek.

American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-6(7/5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.

Pegula, coming off a dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko, took control as she clinched the opening set — her first ever against the Swiss — before edging a tightly contested tiebreak to close out the match.

Third seed Elena Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals after Sonay Kartal retired while trailing 6-4, 4-3.

Rybakina, the 2023 champion, controlled most of the match, surging to a double-break lead in the opening set and steadying after Kartal took multiple medical timeouts.

Although the Briton briefly recovered to level the second set at 3-3, Rybakina broke in the seventh game before Kartal stopped.

“Definitely not the way I wanted to finish the match,” Rybakina said. “It’s not easy, this kind of injury.”

Rybakina next faces Pegula, a rematch of their Australian Open semifinal.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026