Instagram Photos of @lalitkmodi, @mickjagger
Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi has revealed that he had planned to involve Mick Jagger as a team owner in a new English cricket competition intended to replace The Hundred and the T20 Blast.
Modi claims he offered the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) £2.3 billion over 20 years to secure the summer window occupied by The Hundred—three times the amount previously reported.
As a vocal critic of the ECB’s 100-ball format, Modi aimed to replace it with a T20 competition featuring franchises owned by English brands and cricket-loving celebrities, such as Rolling Stones frontman Jagger.
“I made a $1bn bid, saying I want to buy the window. In that window, I said, we will launch an IPL style T20 with 10 teams,” Modi said on the Unofficial Partner podcast.
“We will give you the money, which you should give 90 percent to the counties. I said ‘I’ll give you $1bn over 10 years, another $2bn over the next 10 years’ – actually it was a $3bn deal, but it was for the window.”
Recently, Hampshire announced their sale to GMR Group, the owner of the Delhi Capitals, while other IPL team owners have also shown interest in the county game.
Indian investment is anticipated to flow into English cricket as part of the ECB’s auction of stakes in Hundred franchises, but Modi is skeptical about its longevity.
“[IPL team owners] will come here for a summer holiday, they’ll attend a few games, but are they going to invest marketing dollars in this market? It’s wishful thinking,” he remarked.
“You need to bring in English owners, the top English companies. You need to bring in top English stars to own teams, fans of the game. Let me take an example of Mick Jagger. Great cricket fan. Why shouldn’t Mick own a team?”
Modi also criticized the ECB’s valuation of Hundred franchises, comparing it to “a ponzi scheme,” and called the competition “a non-starter.”
“I was never a bidder for a Hundred [franchise] because I don’t believe in the Hundred,” he stated. “We will be sitting here two years from now, I’ll tell you it’s a non-starter. Even if IPL owners buy a team, they will walk away when there’s no return on it.”
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
