Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has labelled the ECB's sale of the Hundred's teams "a big fat Ponzi scheme" in the latest of a series of social media outbursts.
The ECB are seeking private investments in the Hundred, with all eight teams up for sale. Media reports throughout the summer have put forth a number of potential investors, with several IPL team owners in the mix. However, doubt has been cast on the process at various points, with Modi's the strongest condemnation of the ECB's efforts
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Modi leaked the financial projections of the competition and the valuation of the eight teams submitted by the board’s financial advisors – Raine Group and Deloitte – to its potential investors. He termed the calculations as "more like wishful thinking than a realistic forecast".
"The ECB’s financial projections for The Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear overly optimistic and disconnected from reality. The International TV rights figures make little sense, given the global competition from other cricket leagues like the IPL. It’s unlikely The Hundred will attract the necessary international audience to justify these inflated numbers," Modi wrote.
"Domestically, while an increase in TV rights from £54 million to £85 million is plausible, the #optimism around #sponsorship post-2027 is far-fetched. The ECB’s hope for sustained sponsorship growth into 2029-30 seems more like wishful thinking than a realistic forecast."
He added: "By contrast, as per my analysis, The Hundred's teams are projected to be worth a mere £5 million to £25 million in the best-case scenario in my MOST CONSIDERED #VIEW, with Manchester maxing out at £8.5 million.
"Worse still, The Hundred struggles to match even the Caribbean Premier League's profitability, a sobering indication of its financial frailty. The Hundred appears to be on shaky financial ground, with projections that fail to inspire confidence in its long-term viability as these look dangerously overambitious and unsustainable."
The ECB’s #financial projections for The #Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear overly #optimistic and disconnected from reality. The #International #TV #rights figures make little sense, given the #global #competition from other #cricket #leagues like the #IPL. It’s… pic.twitter.com/cFzqtZF4mg
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) September 26, 2024
Following media reports on Modi's comments, he added more details, explaining that he had wanted to buy the tournament in its entirety, rebrand it and change the format to being a standard T20 competition.
"Want to clarify about my billion dollar offer," he said. "It was to buyout the tournament in perpetuity and the idea was to redo it as a T20 tournament. Not another new format the global audience have ZERO idea about. Secondly to unbundle it from the ECB media rights. Thirdly 100 percent ownership. Fourthly distance from the struggling @thehundred competition. Which comes with its own baggage.
"My concern now is that they are trying to lure current @iplt20 owners into this non starter league and building a hype around it that has no justification or guarantees on numbers. Basically a big fat #ponzischeme."
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