42-year-old James Anderson has reignited hopes of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after he was picked up by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) co-owned Manchester Originals for the upcoming season of the Hundred 2025 on a £31,000 deal (INR 35 lakhs approx). For the unversed, LSG bought stakes in the Manchester Originals at a reported sum of INR 650 crores earlier this year during the sales of the Hundred franchises.
The Originals picked the veteran speedster as a Hundred 2025 Wildcard pick and Anderson’s performances in the tournament can put him in the reckoning for a likely IPL 2026 auction bid. Notably, Jimmy had gone unsold during the Hundred 2025 draft back in March.
Interestingly, if the Originals include Anderson in their squad this season, he will be the second-oldest player in the tournament’s history. The record is currently held by South Africa’s Imran Tahir, who competed at 43 years and 149 days during the 2022 edition.
While Manchester used their one wildcard on Anderson, they used their second one on Proteas fast bowler Marchant de Lange.
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James Anderson, who retired from international cricket last year made a return to the short format after 11-long years featuring in the ongoing Vitality Blast and has looked in good form. Operating as a new-ball specialist for Lancashire, the right-handed pacer has taken 14 wickets in eight games that include a best figures of 3/17.
A good powerplay bowler is an asset for any team in a highly competitive tournament like the IPL and a promising Hundred 2025 outing can put Anderson in the radar of a few IPL teams.
LSG for one had a very one-dimensional pace attack with multiple Indian youngsters in the department in the likes of Mayank Ayadav, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh and others and can probably look to add Anderson’s experience for IPL 2026. Teams like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR) are few other franchises that might also target an experienced overseas pacer and Anderson might just make the cut.
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