In 2023, IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals were very close to sealing the deal for Yorkshire’s ownership with a bid of £25 million. Let us tell you, for some time now the county club has been struggling a lot for funds and has faced a lot of problems. The deal was almost completed but the deal fell apart after Colin Greaves became the chairman again in 2024.

Yorkshire is back in a bad shape again. The county club has called in private investors and Rajasthan Royals have again shown interest in the deal. Rajasthan Royals have again proposed a deal through additional borrowing rather than direct investment. Let us tell you, the club’s £15 million debt will not be cleared as they will still have to pay the amount borrowed by the Royals. The county club has refused the deal as they do not want to replace the debt with another one at all. However, the IPL franchise has not given up and is still in talks to take over the club.

Amidst all this, two other corporate groups have also shown interest. Sun Group, which owns Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20, has expressed its desire to pay £50 million to Yorkshire. This price is double the amount that Rajasthan Royals had initially offered. However, no confirmation has been made by the county club regarding this deal as Yorkshire is talking to other parties as well.

One of them is the Goenka Group, which owns the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League and the Durban Super Giants in the SA20. According to Wisden, they have not yet placed any bid and talks are going on between the two. The Goenka Group initially wanted to acquire the Hampshire club but the GMR Group, co-owners of the Delhi Capitals, won the deal with an offer of £120 million.

Whoever takes over the Yorkshire club will also own the Headingley Cricket Ground

Let us tell you, whichever group acquires the Yorkshire club will also own the Headingley Cricket Ground. According to the report, the deal is expected to be completed in this calendar year as many Indian businessmen have shown interest in buying the county club and The Hundred franchise.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has invited several Indian businessmen to participate in The Hundred and discussions for the same are yet to take place.