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The England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) decision to sell stakes of The Hundred clubs have given a boost to cricket in the region. With investments from four well-known IPL franchises, has been able to raise GBP 975 million by selling stakes in eight teams in their flagship event 'The Hundred'. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has entered into exclusivity agreements with eight parties in the final stage of the process to secure private expertise and investment into The Hundred's teams. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries - Oval Invincibles (owners of Mumbai Indians), the GMR Group - Southern Brave (co-owners of Delhi Capitals), Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG - Manchester Originals (owners of Lucknow Super Giants) and Sun TV Network - Northern Superchargers (owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad) have all bought stakes in four of the eight franchises.
According to a report by news agency PTI, the four IPL teams' cumulative investments would be to the tune of nearly GBP 300 million (Approximately Rs 3257 crore), which is nearly 30 per cent of the valuation raised through sell of stakes.
Now, the question is whether Pakistan players would be allowed to play in the four franchises where IPL teams have stakes. Pakistan players don't feature in the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. In fact in the first three seasons of the SA20, where all the six teams are associated with IPL franchises, there has been no representation from Pakistan. ECB chief executive, Richard Gould, however, has assured that won't be case in The Hundred. "We're aware of that in other regions but that won't be happening here."
Gould added that they are aware that Indian players may not be allowed in The Hundred despite IPL teams' ownerships.
"In terms of the India TV market, the overseas market is very important for us," Richard Gould, said. "The fact that we have got such a wide-ranging set of investors from around the globe will, I believe, help us to add extra value to our overseas broadcast rights.
"In terms of availability to Indian players, that is not priced in with our plans. The BCCI's position has been very clear. At some point we'd love to see Indian players come and play in England. We currently see them obviously in bilaterals and actually quite a lot in county cricket. But that's not something that we have predetermined through this process."