Courtesy: The Hundred
Lancashire CEO Daniel Gidney has recommended to the England Cricket Board (ECB) a plan to make participation of Team India players possible in The Hundred men's league. Team India players do not show up in any domestic competitions except for their local competition Indian Premier League (IPL). India women’s team players are allowed to play The Hundred women’s tournament. Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Shafali Verma have competed in the English league. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn’t issue ‘No Objection Certificates’ to Team India players to participate in foreign T20 leagues. However, Gidney believes if ECB aligns interest with the BCCI, the world’s richest cricket board might permit its players to feature in The Hundred.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Gidney believes ECB should ask the BCCI to claim some stake in the tournament. He was quoted saying, "I think it's possible (Team India players’ participation). If I was the ECB, I'd be talking about perhaps bringing the BCCI in as a minority ownership partner in the tournament as a whole. If you do that, then you are aligning interests. That is probably your best chance of getting (Indian) players in The Hundred. It comes down to the will, and the individuals on both sides."
The Hundred to return with its fifth edition on August 5
The Hundred’s fifth installment will be played from August 5 to 31, 2025. Oval Invincibles, who became champions for the second time in 2024, will be defending the title under Sam Billings’ captaincy and lift the trophy for the third time on the trot. In the previous edition of the tournament, Oval Invincibles beat Southern Brave by 17 runs in the final played at the iconic Lord’s.
This year, Mumbai Indians (MI), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have invested in The Hundred teams. MI and LSG acquired 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals respectively, while SRH claimed 100% stake in Northern Chargers.
