Kolkata Knight Riders Interested In Investing In The Hundred

Owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders are reportedly interested in investing in The Hundred, the new flagship tournament of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The much-awaited tournament was set to get underway this year in July. But the ECB postponed The Hundred’s inaugural edition to next year in the light of the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament has eight men’s and women’s team, namely – Northern Superchargers, Manchester Originals, Trent Rockets, Birmingham Phoenix, Welsh Fire, Southern Brave, London Spirit and Oval Invincibles.

British news outlet ‘The Telegraph’ reported that the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders are open to investing in the 100-ball a side competition. The Knight Riders also a have a presence in the Caribbean Premier League, having bought the Trinidad franchise in 2015.

The news outlet reported that the ECB, which can lose over 300 million pounds if the entire season is wiped out due to the pandemic, is re-evaluating its earlier stance of not allowing private investment in the tournament.

“We anticipate the cost of no cricket this year could be as bad as 380 million pounds. That is the worst-case scenario for us,” ECB CEO Tom Harrison told the UK government’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee about the impact of coronavirus.

“That would be the loss of 800 days of cricket across all of our professional clubs and the ECB. It is the most significant financial challenge we have ever faced,” he added.

Meanwhile, the postponement of The Hundred was pretty much on the cards given the way things have unfolded in recent times. Just few days before postponing the tournament, the ECB had announced that no professional cricket would be played in England and Wales until July 1 at the earliest. The board had stated that its priorities for when cricket resumes are international cricket and the Vitality T20 Blast. In such a scenario, The Hundred was always going to be called off.

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