ECB Planning to Privatise The Hundred, N Srinivasan and Lalit Modi Could be Investors: Report

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is gearing up to privatise its 100-ball tournament called The Hundred which was launched with much fanfare in 2021. The plan will go ahead once at least two-thirds of ECB’s 18 county teams give their approval to it.

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According to a report in moneycontrol, 10 county teams have ‘agreed in principle’ and once two more are added to this list, ECB will proceed with their plan to revamp The Hundred.

Like T20, The Hundred, a limited-overs competition, also involves each team playing 20 overs but the number of deliveries per over is reduced to five from six. In other words, each team gets to face a maximum 100 legal deliveries per innings.

The report further claims that Lalit Modi, the former IPL commissioner, and former BCCI president N Srinivasan could be among the investors lining up for the tournament expected to be launched by 2025.

There’s a possibility that the number of teams for the private league could be increased. Currently, eight teams compete in The Hundred.

Modi now resides in London and there are rumours he has offered ‘to bring in a billion-dollar investment’ for the revamped private league.

On the other hand, Srinivasan’s company owns teams in IPL, SA20 and MLC.

“The IPL franchise owners are already making a good deal of money from the T20 league. It makes sense for them to invest money because they can sustain it. They’re already earning from a cricket league, so makes sense to expand and invest in another. For a complete outsider to put in money and break even at some point will be a bigger challenge,” the publication quoted an unnamed source as saying.

The publication further reports that Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders have also shown a keen interest in the ‘new project’.

“As for Rajasthan Royals, well the franchise operates out of UK and Jaipur, considering their owner is based out of London. So, England is as good as home,” a source was quoted as saying.