The flagship initiative of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), ‘The Hundred League’ is a unique offering for cricket fans as they have never seen a 100-ball game played before. It was introduced as a variation on the T20 format, aimed at increasing the popularity of cricket along the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL). To make this new league a success, the ECB also contacted several IPL franchises so that they could take stake in the teams of the Hundred.

Lalit Modi, the main man behind IPL, called the financial structure of ECB a scam. He believes that many other major franchise cricket leagues are already in a strong position and the Hundred has been able to attract only a limited number of international fans. He has warned those investing in England’s The Hundred.

‘They are trying to create a lot of buzz and excitement about a tournament which is actually not as important as they are making it out to be,’ Lalit Modi told Cricbuzz.

‘The Hundred’ league tournament is fooling people: Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi tweeted on his ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) handle-

“The ECB’s figures regarding earnings from international TV rights for the Hundred League do not make sense given the increasing competition from leagues like the IPL. “It seems unlikely that ‘The Hundred’ will be able to attract an international audience to justify these inflated figures.”

Hundred League is finding it difficult to compete with CPL’s profits: Lalit Modi

It is noteworthy that Lalit Modi started IPL in 2008. It is believed that BCCI had earlier rejected his idea in which he had proposed to introduce a club-based format of cricket like football in India. However, when India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, IPL got approval and was loved by the Indian audience. Lalit Modi had offered US$1 billion to buy ‘The Hundred’, but the ECB rejected it.

He further added, “The worst part is that ‘The Hundred’ is struggling to even compete with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in terms of profits, which is a clear indication of its financial weakness. ‘The Hundred’ league is in a weak position financially.”