Kolkata Knight Riders CEO interested in investing in The Hundred
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners Kolkata Knight Riders are looking to invest in the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new flagship tournament, The Hundred.
The media claimed that Shah Rukh Khan’s co-owned KKR is open to investing in the 100-ball side race, now postponed to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ECB, which can lose more than 300 million pounds if the entire season wiped out as a result of the pandemic, is reassessing its earlier stance of not allowing private investment in the tournament, the report claimed.
KKR owners also have a presence in the Caribbean Premier League, buying the Trinidad franchise in 2015.
Last week, The ECB had postponed the inaugural edition of The Hundred until next year. It should have begun in July.
The cricket season was due to start on April 2, but at the earliest, no matches will be played now until the beginning of July.
“We expect that the cost of no cricket may be as bad as 380 million pounds this year. It is the worst-case scenario for us,” ECB CEO Tom Harrison told the Digital, Community, Media, and Sport Committee of the UK government about the effects of coronavirus.”
“This will be the loss of 800 cricket days between all of our professional clubs and the ECB. It’s the greatest financial obstacle we’ve ever faced.”
The latest competition from the sport, The Hundred, described by Harrison as an “economic base” for cricket, which was projected to bring 11 million pounds of income to the game in its first year, was postponed until next year.
