Hundred auction: Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed signed by Sunrisers Leeds

Neither of the two Pakistan internationals in the women’s auction were bought on Wednesday, after which coaches of Hundred teams linked to IPL franchises told BBC Sport they had not been instructed to avoid Pakistan players.

There were 13 Pakistan players in the men’s auction after pace bowler Shaheen Afridi withdrew, a number that was whittled down to five who went under the hammer based on interest from the eight teams.

None of Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan or Saim Ayub attracted bids when they were made available for sale on Thursday morning, though they could re-enter the auction later in the day.

Spinner Usman Tariq, a star of the recent T20 World Cup, was the subject of bids from Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets – two franchises not affiliated to the IPL. Tariq was eventually bought by Phoenix for £140,000.

In the final sale of the morning, Abrar received bids from Sunrisers and the Rockets after entering at a base price of £75,000.

Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori told BBC Sport: “He’s unique in the amount of variations and a lot of, particularly domestic players, won’t have seen him before.”

Former New Zealand international Vettori said he was “aware” of the speculation surrounding Pakistan players, but he had not been given instructions to avoid signing them.

“We came into the auction with every player available to us,” said Vettori. “As soon as this option was available there were a number of very good spinners from international teams that were an option, but Abrar was a priority.”

The auctions are the latest stage in the revamp of The Hundred after the sales of stakes in the eight teams last year.

Collectively, the franchises are investing just over £7m in salaries each year in the women’s competition, and more than £16m per year in the men’s tournament.

For some owners, entry into The Hundred is a further boost to their portfolio of teams in franchise leagues across the world, while all investors are looking for a return on their outlay through commercial deals, ticket sales and TV rights.