ECB proposes IPL franchise owners to invest The Hundred

The Hundred tournament has been grabbing attention for its unusual format of 100 balls per side providing another aspect to the game of cricket after the emergence of the T20 format. The league which originated in England saw players from across the globe getting drafted.

Meanwhile, the franchise owners and the England Cricket Board (ECB) are reportedly in talks with the owners of the richest cricket league in the world, the Indian Premier League, to invest in the novice tournament. 

The ECB is ready to offer 49 percent stake and retain 51 percent to not cede the stake completely to the private investors, in this case, the IPL owners. Richard Gould, ECB’s chief executive, pointed out that the move will not cause the governing body to lose hold on competition and teams have an option to sell part of their shares.

Also Read: England Cricket Board finalises procedure for private investment in The Hundred

"Control comes at different levels, it comes at team level and it comes at competition level -- that's not something we are ceding control of. Different investor groups have different needs, for some it is about control of what happens on the field, for others it's the commercial element,” said Gould as quoted by TOI.

“You're right about the strength of the Indian market -- it represents probably 90 percent of the revenues coming into the ICC (International Cricket Council) and we have seen the proliferation of IPL teams moving outside of their home market into other national markets. I think that's to be welcomed," he added.

Meanwhile, the Hundred League features both men and women akin to the Big Bash League and Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and also IPL and Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India. ECB's director of business operations, Vikram Banerjee, has confirmed that he has met and been in talks with IPL as well as Women's Premier League (WPL) owners.

"I've now met and spoken to, a number of times, all the IPL owners and WPL (Women's Premier League) owners that don't overlap and there is interest there, from what they've told me, which is fantastic and lends into a very exciting process. I would really hope we have a level of partnerships with some IPL teams, I think that would be brilliant. They have done a great job and know cricket very well."