At least seven franchises of Indian Premier League franchises have placed formal bids to own and run teams in England’s The Hundred tournament. The franchises include Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals. UP Warriorz, who is the female franchise owned by Dubai-based Capri Capitals group and part of the Women’s Premier League, has also placed a bid.
However, all IPL teams cannot claim the same as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings have already opted out. Gujarat Titans continue working in uncertainty due to alleged internal mudslinging and potential changes in ownership ahead of IPL 2025.
WATCH – Harsha Bhogle Had A Cheeky Exchange With Rohit Sharma After India’s Shock Defeat
Interestingly, Lancer Capitals, who shares ownership with Manchester United’s Avram Glazer and is the owner of Desert Vipers in the ILT20, have also shortlisted their interest. Though they haven’t bid for any specific team, they have made an offer to invest in The Hundred, in which the ECB would be entrusted to judge the seriousness of the bids and pick eight prospective bidders.
CSK, MI , KKR , SRH , DC, LSG have submitted bids to buy Hundred teams.
RCB & PBKS stayed away. GT & RR might potentially bid as well. pic.twitter.com/EsWUsbQA4k
— Ragav 𝕏 (@ragav_x) October 21, 2024
Once these franchises are finalized, they will move on to the trading phase of the negotiations where details of their franchise ownership will be finalized. It is believed to be an involved process, mainly due to the fact that it is likely to take place after the IPL 2025 mega-auction scheduled for November 2024.
The ECB would look for a valuation of £75 million to £100 million for the franchises. However, the IPL team owners would be permitted to acquire only a 49% stake in The Hundred teams.
ALSO READ: Aakash Chopra backs Sarfaraz Khan to play ahead of KL Rahul for 2nd IND vs NZ Test 2024
The remaining 51% would be owned by respective counties. The option remains with the IPL team owners to purchase the shares held by the counties, though that’s pretty unlikely to happen before the following season. Interestingly, it has been reported that Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals are in advanced discussions with some county teams, showing high interest in sealing the ownership deal early.
