Four teams could be rebranded for the next season.
The Hundred tournament, introduced by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to go through a major shift for the next season. In a move that could change the league forever, the board is looking to hold a mega auction like the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The primary reason for this mega auction is the involvement of the IPL owners. The IPL franchises have stakes in four out of eight teams in The Hundred. The Reliance Group, which owns Mumbai Indians, has bought stakes in Oval Invincibles. Sunrisers Hyderabad have links with Northern Superchargers while Lucknow Super Giants have partnered with Manchester Originals. Delhi Capitals owners have bagged the partial rights in Southern Brave.
The influence of these franchises is clearly visible as the next season is likely to see these four teams with different branding. A mega auction also seems to be a strong possibility. The Hundred had a draft system until this season. Most of the teams have kept a more or less similar squad in these four editions. Oval invincibles are the prime example of it, who are gunning for their third successive title.
The ECB has began to draw to retention rules but the IPL owners are strongly pushing for an auction system. For the 2025 season, teams had the option to retain up to 10 players from their 2024 squads. This number will go down significantly if the mega auction happens.
The Hundred managing director Vikram Banerjee is hoping the next year can be a reset. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, he iterated one of their main targets is to have the best players around the globe playing in the tournament. And if the auction is the way to go, he is all for it.
“I’d like next year to be a bit of a reset. You want to make sure whatever you do brings the very best players in; whatever the mix is between draft, auction, direct signings, retentions, the very best players in the world choose to play here,” said Banerjee.
“But you also need competitive balance.. Coaches won’t like that, but from a league level, that’s an important thing,” he added.
Apart from the auction format, there could be a few more changes to the league in the coming years due to IPL influence.
The 2025 season acted as a transitional phase for the league, going from an ECB-owned entity to having private investments from the next year.
The Hundred 2025 will conclude on August 31. Oval Invincibles will be taking on one of Northern Superchargers or Trent Rockets in the final.
