The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has declined a tempting 10-year buy-out proposal for their franchise-based property ‘The Hundred’ from former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, according to the Daily Telegraph. Modi, banned for life by the BCCI in 2013, aimed to buy and finance ‘The Hundred’ over ten years through private investment. The ECB, cautious about potential complications with the BCCI, decided against engaging in discussions with Modi. The ECB had previously turned down a GBP 400 million offer from the Bridgepoint Group for a 75% stake in ‘The Hundred.’
Richard Thompson, the ECB’s chairman, had previously stated that he would only consider offers in the “few billion” range. Since then, the ECB has pursued a strategy of selling equity in the teams while retaining ownership of the competition.
Modi expressed that he had secured investors for a 10-team tournament but suggested that ‘The Hundred’ format was ineffective and should be transformed into a Twenty20 competition. The proposed team purse was USD 10 million per season. Modi valued the competition at USD 100 million annually for ten years.
He advised the ECB not to invite more than two IPL franchises, emphasizing that franchises should be English-owned and operated with minimal Indian input. Modi, in contact with the English cricket establishment for 18 months, aspired to make it the second-biggest league after the IPL.
“I would give them a guarantee of a billion dollars,” Modi conveyed to Telegraph Sport. “A lot of people have been in touch with me interested in backing it, and I made a proposal to the ECB, but it had a lot of conditions. The Hundred format does not work, and there should only be two franchises sold to Indian buyers. It will only work if it is an English competition and not Indo-centric,” he explained.
The ECB aims to generate GBP 100 million by selling equity (shares).
