KKR CEO Venky Mysore reveals real reasons behind not having teams in The Hundred and SA20

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore revealed why the Knight Riders are not exploring the England and South African cricket markets through the Hundred and the SA20 leagues.

As of now, along with the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Knight Riders have teams in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and in the International League T20 (ILT20). But they could have teams in the SA20 and in the Hundred as well.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore explained why they don't have teams in SA20 and in THE Hundred

KKR CEO Venky Mysore said that they had the desire to invest in the other two leagues as well. But for some reason, they hold back their original plans. Mysore informed that in both occasions, related to The Hundred and the SA20, there are issues related to finance. As they need to run the business in a profitable way, they decided not to take part in the franchise leagues in England and South Africa.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

“In England, the issue was valuation again. It became a valuation exercise, and at those numbers, it didn’t make financial sense for us. A spreadsheet is only as good as the assumptions you make. We don’t want to borrow, we don’t want to raise money outside. You tell me how much you want I’ll put in the money. I want to sleep well at night,” Venky Mysore explained why the Knight Riders are not a part of The Hundred.

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the original plans

Unlike the Hundred case, the Purple Brigade was very close to joining South Africa’s SA20 League. Because of the COVID-19 situation, when most of the operations came to a halt, they eventually had to scrap their previous plans.

“In South Africa, Knight Riders had actually signed up to participate in a previous incarnation of the country’s T20 franchise league that was put on hold before COVID. When it was resurrected, the fit was no longer there. Besides not meeting the Knight Riders’ financial requirements, there was also the practical challenge of a schedule clash with the ILT20,” Mysore said on not having a team in SA20.

Focus is now on the IPL 2026 season

For now, the franchise’s entire focus is on the upcoming Indian Premier League season, that is IPL 2026. The previous season did not carry any sweet memories for the team as they failed to qualify for the play-offs. In IPL 2025, KKR was the defending champions after winning the IPL 2024 title. The three-time IPL champions have done some repair work ahead of the 2026 campaign.

On paper, the KKR is looking strong enough to throw strong challenges to the opponents in the IPL 2026 season. Still, some doubts and concerns remain. Ahead of the season, the franchise sustains multiple injury concerns. Harshit Rana is reportedly ruled out of the entire season. Another pacer, Matheesha Pathirana, is yet to get full fitness.

Ajinkya Rahane is set to continue as the captain of the team. Some experts feel that Rinku Singh can be a better option, rather than trusting Rahane, under whose leadership, the team finished their 2025 journey as the 8^th in the 10-team tournament.

Read More: King is back! Virat Kohli joins RCB in Bengaluru to launch IPL 2026 title defence