Xtra Time Web Desk: The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could offer the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises a stake in the teams participating in The Hundred. Shah Rukh Khan owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals have already shown their interest in buying stakes in franchises of The Hundred.
In a bid to get more revenue, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has offered the BCCI with quite a few revenue models. One among them is to allow all the eight IPL franchises a 25 percent stake in an allocated Hundred team.
It is also learnt that the ECB has offered BCCI a revenue share of broadcast income through its coverage in Asia, the value of which would correlate to Indian players appearing in the Hundred.
Both the cricket boards have been in talks pre-COVID-19 pandemic but saw some development when ECB executives were in Ahmedabad during the pink-ball Test in February. The report added that ECB are mulling over a number of potential partnerships with India.
Besides the Hundred, the ECB hope that BCCI will see the summer seasons as a potential investment opportunity. The tickets sale for Hundred will go on sale in April, with the competition starting on July 21. It is around the same time the Indian contingent will travel to England for the five-Test series.
For the England Board, the deal would do wonders and will help them recover the financial losses they faced during the pandemic. Bringing Indian players would be vital for attracting the south Asian audience and also increase the reach of the tournament in India.