Lalit Modi doubtful of ECB’s ambitious financial prospects concerning The Hundred (Twitter)
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)‘s brainchild, The Hundred League is one of a kind as the fans never saw a 100-ball game per side. A tweak to the renowned T20 format, The Hundred aimed to replicate the fervour of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In a bid to let the business flourish, ECB also reached out to several IPL franchises to stake claim in the teams of the tournament.
Lalit Modi, who was the linchpin behind the IPL, iterated that the financial structure of ECB for Hundred is not realistic. His opinion stems from the fact that several franchise cricket leagues around the globe are in a commanding position and Hundred could conjure only some of the international fans.
“The ECB’s financial projections for The Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear overly optimistic and disconnected from reality. The International TV rights figures make little sense, given the global competition from other cricket leagues like the IPL. It’s unlikely The Hundred will attract the necessary international audience to justify these inflated numbers,” Modi tweeted on his ‘X’ handle.
Check out Lalit Modi’s latest post here:
The ECB’s #financial projections for The #Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear overly #optimistic and disconnected from reality. The #International #TV #rights figures make little sense, given the #global #competition from other #cricket #leagues like the #IPL. It’s… pic.twitter.com/cFzqtZF4mg
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) September 26, 2024
‘The Hundred’ struggles to match even CPL’s profitability: Modi
Notably, Lalit Modi was the pioneer of the IPL in 2008. It is believed that the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) had previously rejected his idea to replicate the football-like club culture in India with international cricketers featuring in it. The green signal came when India won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and the Indian audience welcomed the format. He showed eagerness to buy The Hundred for USD 1 billion but the offer was rejected by ECB.
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“Worse still, ‘The Hundred’ struggles to match even the Caribbean Premier League’s profitability, a sobering indication of its financial frailty. The Hundred appears to be on shaky financial ground, with projections that fail to inspire confidence in its long-term viability as these look dangerously overambitious and unsustainable,” he added.