In a recent development, the owners of the IPL teams bought stakes in four out of the eight teams in the Hundred. It means that the IPL owners make up half of the new investors in the Hundred. The ECB has confirmed that it has entered into exclusive agreements with eight partners to secure private investments in each Hundred’s team.
While this has brought a huge amount of revenue into the league, it has also raised concerns over the participation of Pakistani players in the league from now onwards. The chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has finally opened up on this topic.
Gould assured that the participation of Pakistani players won’t be affected despite the huge influence of IPL teams on the Hundred. It is to be noted that Pakistani players are banned from playing in the IPL due to political tensions between the two countries.
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ECB breaks silence on involvement of IPL teams in The Hundred
The ECB finally opened up on this issue and claimed that it is aware of this issue. However, Richard Gould affirmed that the participation of Pakistani players in the Hundred is not going to be limited by the involvement of IPL teams.
“We’re aware of that in other regions but that won’t be happening here,” Gould was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo when asked about the playing restrictions encountered by players from Pakistan.
While the BCCI does not have any say on this matter, but the issue can be seen in other leagues like SA20. In the first three seasons of SA20, no team had Pakistani players. All the six participating teams in the tournament are owned by the IPL teams.
There is very little participation from Pakistan in the IPL-owned teams in the IL T20 and MLC as well. However, the Hundred has seen a no. of top-class Pakistani players making their appearance, and the league wants to continue doing that forward.
Will Indian players participate in the Hundred?
Richard Gould also spoke about the participation of Indian players in the Hundred since the Hundred teams are now owned by IPL teams. Gould claimed that he would like Indian male players to play in the league in the future but it is not possible currently due to BCCI’s stance.
“In terms of availability to Indian players, that is not priced in with our plans. The BCCI’s position has been very clear. At some point we’d love to see Indian players come and play in England,” Gould said.
“We currently see them obviously in bilaterals and actually quite a lot in county cricket. But that’s not something that we have predetermined through this process,” he added.
Indian male players are not allowed to play in T20 leagues and the Hundred abroad by the BCCI. However, the player can play once he is retired from Indian domestic cricket. The Indian players are allowed to participate in first-class and 50-over tournaments abroad.
IPL teams having stakes in the Hundred
Four IPL teams have bought stakes in the teams recently. Those investors are RPSG Group (owners of Lucknow Super Giants), Sun TV Network Limited (owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad), Reliance Industries Limited (owners of Mumbai Indians) and GMR Group (co-owners of Delhi Capitals).
RPSG Group, Sun TV Network Limited, Reliance Industries Limited, and GMR Group put in successful bids for Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, and Southern Brave respectively.
While the ECB has been successful in acquiring new investors into the league, it will also help in opening up the highly lucrative Indian market for the league.