Indian Premier League (IPL) powerhouses Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are not convinced about the business model of England’s white-ball domestic tournament, The Hundred, which has led to their declining interest in acquiring teams in the competition — according to a Cricbuzz report.
“The seminal issue before the investors is the media rights projection shared by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), particularly the broadcast revenue from the overseas markets,” the report read. “The value prediction, supposedly around GBP 34 million a year in the next broadcast cycle of 2029-32 — about 16 times of the current value — is deemed as unrealistic, overly optimistic and not exactly feasible,” it added.
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Although CSK and KKR still haven’t officially withdrawn as prospective buyers, they are “unlikly to participate in the process actively”.
The 100-ball tournament had initially invited interest from more than half of the IPL franchises, barring Royals Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab King and Gujarat Titans; but most of them are now giving the proposition another thought.
“The concerns are being addressed but they (CSK) seem not too chuffed up about buying a team,” the report quoted a source.
The selling process is being conducted in phase-wise fashion by the ECB, and each team is expected to have 3-4 bidders in the end. The highest bidder will get the team, leaving the others to fight for the remaining teams.
The eight teams part of the competition are Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.
The ECB is reportedly not interested in selling all the teams to IPL owners.
Among the other interested bidders are Mumbai Indians‘ owners, Reliance Industries Limited, and Lucknow Super Giants’ owner, Sanjiv Goenka — besides Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals.
At the moment, negotiations have entered the third round, with the deals likely to be finalized between March and May — the report said.
