Fact Check: Did SRH Receive Support from Pakistan During IPL, Truth Behind Viral Tweet

The IPL 2026 is going on, and recently, a tweet is getting viral from a Pakistan. A tweet from a user in X showed that the people in Pakistan are supporting Sunrisers Hyderabad, an Indian Premier League team which has shocked many Indian cricket fans.

This tweet has now created a lot of buzz as SRH is getting support from a country which has poor relations with India. Adding to it, the IPL, which is also the biggest cricket league in the world, doesn't allow Pakistani players to participate in it. Let's have a look if SRH is receiving support from Pakistan or not.

SRH Pakistan Support Fact Check

While the tweet from the Pakistani user clearly reflects support for SRH, it does not account much. Like this user, several Pakistani X accounts spoke of supporting SRH during this edition of Indian Premier League for coming forward and signing a Pakistani player (Abrar Ahmed) in The Hundred. It is to be noted that no other Indian franchise in The Hundred signed a player from Pakistan.

"Our Respect for SRH increased after SRH picked Abrar Ahmad in the hundred. SRH is my favorite team in IPL 2026,” the user (@Qamar5618) posted on X (formerly Twitter).

What is SRH Abrar Ahmed Controversy?

The actual truth behind Pakistan fans supporting SRH is more subtle than the buzz. The recent support towards SRH is highly linked to a massive controversy involving the Sunrisers Leeds, a sister franchise of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the UK-based tournament, The Hundred.

In the March 2026 auction for The Hundred, Sunrisers Leeds, which is owned by Kavya Maran (the SUN Group), signed Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for approximately ₹2.34 crore (£190,000).

Due to the geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, Sunrisers Hyderabad Abrar Ahmed controversy kept growing. As a result, Kavya Maran faced huge backlash for signing a Pakistani player and a massive "Boycott SRH" started trending among Indian netizens.

The signing of Abrar Ahmed even led to the suspension of the Sunrisers Leeds' X account shortly after the auction as the account was reportedly several times by Indian users. Abrar, one of the best T20 bowlers currently, has also made some controversial posts which haven't gone well with the Indian users.

After the Hundred auction, the BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla had clarified that the board has no jurisdiction over the players picked for overseas leagues like The Hundred. Hence, the BCCI has no role to play in it.