Lancashire targets IPL alliance to take over Manchester Originals in The Hundred

In what has been the latest development as per the reports in ESPNCricinfo, it is learned that Lancashire wants to partner with an IPL franchise and run Manchester Originals as a joint venture from the 2025 edition of the Hundred. The stakes for the franchises will be on sale from next month and the ECB will be soon sharing the prospectuses.

Lancashire has met various interested parties over the last few months for the same. They have a great relationship in India as they often send their men's and women's teams for tours. Also, they have links with Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru and also has signed players in Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, and Venkatesh Iyer as overseas players.

As a part of The Hundred sale process, Lancashire will be gifted a 51% stake in Manchester Originals by the ECB. This is because they are the owner of the Emirates Old Trafford. But they aren't keen to acquire the 100% stakes. They have mentioned that they want a "sporting partner"

Lancashire chief executive, Daniel Gidney expressed his interest in seeing IPL franchise partnering with them. He believes that it will help them grow their cricket and made a statement, saying that their pathway is strong. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he explained:

"Our preference is a partner who will partner with us on cricket, who can help us grow our cricket, and we have a strong interest in India. We'd love to work with an IPL team, of course, because of the opportunities that would bring - both for us and for them… our pathway is the best in the country, and so is our medical staff."

Daniel Gidney further talked about the process and added:

"As I've said to different people from that part of the world, the first round is being run by the ECB, so you need to get your number up. If you want an ego and to pay a lot of money, then London is your gig.

"There'll be loads of people that want London, but there are only two teams and one of those only wants a passive investor so it narrows your choice down. Outside of that, I said to people: 'If you want cheap, we are not it. If you want the best value, we are it."

It is learned that Lancashire also had a meeting with officials from Lucknow Super Giants. The London-based franchises in London Spirit (Lord's) and Oval Invincibles (The Oval) are expected to be worth the most, with Manchester Originals and Birmingham Phoenix (Edgbaston) following.

There also have been reports that claimed that the co-owner of Manchester United, who owns Desert Vipers in the UAE's ILT20, has also expressed his desire to buy the big stake in Hundred.

Daniel Gidney shares his opinion on how Hundred can be successful

Daniel Gidney also talked about how the Hundred can be successful. He suggested that for the league to be successful, the salaries of the players should be higher than what they are currently. He said that the league should attract the best talents. He explained:

"The key for the success of the Hundred going forward is that player salaries have to go up - on both the men's and women's side - to attract the best talent. You can't have a scenario where [Shaheen Shah] Afridi is choosing to play in Canada over us. That's just nonsense.

"I think there's probably 30 to 40 players who are currently playing in the Hundred but I don't think they should be," he concluded.