Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are reportedly in contention to buy The Hundred franchise Manchester Originals. This comes in the backdrop of the interest from the franchise owners to get investment from India via the IPL franchises. Currently, the Originals have only one stakeholder – Lancashire – and are the only franchise to do so.
KKR, CSK enter The Hundred race
The reports of KKR and CSK’s interest in The Hundred franchise comes after former IPL chairman Lalit Modi called the auction a ‘big fat Ponzi scheme’. He also questioned the interests from India when the franchise was only valued 8.5 million euros. CSK and KKR – both franchises who are highly valued in the IPL – will now look to add England to their list of leagues they are a part of, including CPL, MLC and SA20. Reports had earlier suggested that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were also in talks with the franchise to acquire stake.
Lancashire chief executive Daniel Gidny had told ESPNCricinfo earlier that they were open to working with an IPL team in order to boost the growth of the game and the league.
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For some time, IPL franchises have been trying to get into the English cricket system. Previously that was through County Cricket, but now the medium is The Hundred. At least four teams have already shown interest in buying a major stake in one of the eight franchises. Since the start of September, they have received bids for acquiring a 49% stake in their eight franchises.
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