Lalit Modi brutally shuts down Kevin Pietersen’s claim of The Hundred becoming UK’s IPL

While the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been growing in terms of popularity and profit, year by year, England’s The Hundred franchise league is seemingly struggling to attract cricket fans. As the franchise leagues are considered business models across the globe, revenue plays a crucial role in their success.

Fans are concerned about the future of The Hundred. Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen believes that the model of the league, under the observation of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), will be changed in the near future. However, the founder of IPL, Lalit Modi, has different views on it.

Kevin Pietersen's prediction on The Hundred

In reply to an ‘X’ comment, Pietersen stated that The Hundred will adopt the 20-overs format, like IPL, to attract more crowds and lucrative deals to fetch success.

“It'll just be the UK's version of the IPL. Format will change to T20,” Kevin Pietersen wrote in his response.

Lalit Modi's response to Pietersen's prediction

In response to the former cricketer’s prediction, Lalit Modi claimed that The Hundred will never be able to come close to the Indian Premier League for various reasons. Modi pointed out that in the UK, people are not truly excited about cricket, as there are some other popular sports like Football, Rugby, Tennis, Racing, and Darts.

“Not in this lifetime will ANY T20 tournament be like the IPL, my friend. Better not to hype it up as such, as you don’t have. 1. Cricket as a premier sport in the UK. It’s football, followed by rugby, followed by racing, followed by tennis, followed by darts. 2. Nor the die-hard fan base. 3. Nor the population to support it. 4. Nor the advertisers to back it. 5. Nor the Indian players. They will NEVER BE ALLOWED,” Lalit Modi opined.

For the sixth point in support of his claims, Modi stated that to shape the league, replicating the Indian Premier League, the board will have to make agreements with the other nations as well. The IPL is structured through home and away fixtures, which makes it long and exciting, in comparison to the other franchise leagues. If, somehow, the ECB manages to do that, then it could face a lack of public interest, which will have a direct impact on the business.

The 18 counties will find it hard to agree. If they do an IPL format, WHICH IS HOME AND AWAY. You don’t have the number of days to play it or crowds to support it. So better to see the reality and see it more like a South African T20 league at best. That too, if it’s the only short format in the UK, then the teams will break even or make a marginal profit,” Lalit Modi said.

“Keep in mind ECB’s bread and butter will continue to be the bilateral games and you all should hope that is the case as short format requires all the above ingredients to get people to pay even pay a fraction of the 35 pounds per month for the football package,” he further added.

Not in this lifetime will ANY T20 tournament will be like the @IPL my friend. Better not to hype it up as such as you don’t have
1. Cricket as a premier sports in uk. It’s football followed by rugby followed by racing followed by tennis followed by darts 🤣🤣😭
2. Nor the die… https://t.co/ACzUoiWvkj

— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) April 18, 2026

IPL's business value witnessed a massive rise

According to a Times of India article, published in July 2025, IPL, cricket's annual showpiece event, has seen its business value jump 13% in a year to $18.5 billion - nearly Rs 1.6 lakh crore. At the same time, its brand value has risen 14% to nearly $4 billion (about Rs 33,000 crore), a report by NYSE-listed investment bank Houlihan Lokey, which has valued several sports franchises around the world, showed.

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