The England and Wales Cricket Board has rejected IPLLalit Modi’s mastermind’s multi-million dollar bid to buy and restructure ECB‘The Hundred’ Tournament. Modi was banned for life by the BCCI in 2013 for serious misconduct and indiscipline. According to a Cricbuzz report, Lalit Modi had promised the ECB to privatize the tournament, which will help the board increase its revenue.
In his blueprint for privatizing ‘The Hundred’, Lalit Modi had suggested increasing the tournament from eight teams to 10, privatizing the league with the smallest share of the IPL and allocating 100 million prize money to players over ten years.
The ECB refuses to sign an agreement with Lalit Modi on the restructuring of ‘The Hundred’
Lalit Modi’s representatives met Vikram Banerjee, COO of the England and Wales Cricket Board and also de facto director of ‘The Hundred’ and CEO Richard Gould. He made an offer to buy the league for ten years and also finance it through private investment.
According to the British newspaper ‘Telegraph’, the England and Wales Cricket Board is in no mood to sign an agreement with Lalit Modi. The ECB fears losing control over the best months of the season and believes that working with Modi will damage its relationship with the BCCI, so they have no interest in selling the competition as a whole.
Speaking to ‘Telegraph’, Lalit Modi stated that he has gathered investors who are willing to invest in ‘The Hundred’. Modi also told the ECB that they should make the tournament a proper 20-over tournament instead of playing it in a 100-ball format. He added that each season, each franchise will receive a purse of $10 million each season, which will match the players’ salaries to the same as those of the Indian Premier League.
Indian Premier League teams like Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad are also interested in investing in ‘The Hundred’. However, there is no proper confirmation about the news.
Following his conviction for financial irregularities, indiscipline and “actions prejudicial to the interests of the BCCI” by the BCCI disciplinary committee, Lalit Modi was banned by the organization in 2013. The main charges leveled against Lalit Modi were bid rigging in 2010. Franchise sale of two new teams. Additionally, he was accused of selling Internet and broadcasting rights without permission.
‘The Hundred’ is made up of eight teams and is primarily an over-20s tournament. However, each over consists of five legal balls and only a total of 100 balls can be bowled per innings.
Lalit Modi was one of the main brains behind the inception of the Indian Premier League. Modi made IPL a brand of Indian cricket where players from all over the world come to play in India and also entertain the Indian public. The brand value of the Indian Premier League in the current scenario has increased 10 times. The broadcasting rights of the cash-rich league were sold for a whopping Rs 48,000 crore, while Australian Mitchell Starc was priced at 24.75 crore in IPL 2024 auction.
