The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has turned down a hefty 10-year buy-out offer from former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi for their franchise-based property “The Hundred,” not wanting to jeopardize their friendly relationship with the mighty BCCI.
In 2013, the BCCI banned Lalit Modi for life due to his “serious misconduct and indiscipline” in relation to his proposals for two new IPL franchises in 2010.
After leaving India, Lalit Modi relocated to London. Lalit Modi had scheduled the contest for July 1–August 15, the height of the English summer.
In order to propose a 10-year offer to purchase The Hundred and finance it through private investment, Lalit Modi’s representatives reportedly met chief executive Richard Gould and director of operations Vikram Banerjee of the England and Wales Cricket Board, who serves as The Hundred’s de facto head.
Nevertheless, it appears that the ECB is unwilling to continue discussions with Modi over the issue.
The ECB is concerned about the possible drawbacks of a collaboration because “dealing with Modi would jeopardise its relationship with the BCCI,” but it is also not ready to give up ownership of its flagship product entirely. It should be mentioned that the Bridgepoint Group made a comparable offer to the ECB for GBP 400 million in exchange for a 75% share in “The Hundred.”
“He has lined up investors willing to pump money into a 10-team tournament but told the ECB the Hundred format does not work and should be converted into a Twenty20 competition instead,” Modi said in an interview with Telegraph Sport. According to the offer document, the team purse would have been USD 10 million per season, or around INR 83 crore to INR 95 crore for the IPL.
Over a ten-year period, Lalit Modi assessed the competition’s worth to be worth USD 100 million annually.
The ECB had actually been urged by the former IPL commissioner not to allow more than two IPL franchises to own teams.
“I guarantee them a billion dollars,” Lalit Modi told Telegraph Sport.
“I made a suggestion to the ECB, but it came with a lot of restrictions, and many individuals have contacted me wanting to support it. There should only be two franchises offered to Indian customers because the Hundred format is ineffective. Only an English competition, not an Indo-centric one, can make it succeed,” he stated.
The ECB thinks selling equity will allow them to raise 100 million pounds.
