Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings are battling it out to buy the Hundred franchise Manchester Originals in a significant boost for England cricket chiefs’ much-maligned sales process.
Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi slammed the auction as “a big fat Ponzi scheme” and dismissed the Hundred as “a struggling non-starter league” in a series of social media posts last month, but there is huge interest from India despite his explosive claims.
Modi was particularly scornful of the Manchester Originals, claiming that the Old Trafford-based franchise is worth just £8.5m, so the prospect of a bidding war from India is intriguing.
The Originals are unique among the eight franchises in The Hundred in that they have only one county stakeholder, Lancashire, which should make the sales process more straightforward.
Koltata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings are among the most valuable franchises in the IPL, where teams are now fetching more than $1bn, and their ownership groups also have very deep pockets.
A successful bid by KKR would bring some Bollywood glamour to the Originals, as they are owned by superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla.
Chennai’s owner is billionaire industrialist N Srinivasan, a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and former chairman of the International Cricket Council.
Lancashire chief executive Daniel Gidney has made no secret of his desire to work with an IPL franchise, with all 10 of them expressing some interest in the Hundred sale.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan co-owns IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders
“Our preference is a partner who will partner with us on cricket, who can really help us grow our cricket, and clearly we have a strong interest in India,” Gidney told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year.
“We’d love to work with an IPL team, of course, because of the opportunities that would bring, both for us and for them.”
Staveley spotted at Tottenham amid takeover rumours
Amanda Staveley’s presence at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday for the NFL clash between the New York Jets and the Minnessota Vikings set tongues wagging, as the former Newcastle director is in the process of putting together a consortium seeking to buy a stake in the club.
Staveley has held talks with numerous investors from the Middle East who are interested in Tottenham, but was not on club business last weekend.
Her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, who was also on the Newcastle board until last summer, had been invited to the game by the NFL.
Popular McCoist sticks with TNT and snubs Amazon
Ally McCoist has turned down a big-money offer from Amazon Prime to join its Champions League coverage.
The US streaming service has the first pick of Tuesday Champions League games as part of a new deal with Uefa this season and wanted McCoist to join their commentary team.
McCoist has become the hottest property in punditry since returning to the airwaves with Amazon’s coverage of Premier League games three years ago, but has opted to stay loyal to TNT Sports.
The ex-Rangers and Scotland striker received an OBE for services to broadcasting and football at Windsor Castle last week before going on to cover Rangers’ Europa League match with Lyon for TNT.
McCoist has been with TNT Sports since the new channel launched last season and has no plans to leave.
The 62-year-old worked with Amazon when it had Premier League rights between 2021 and 2024, but that deal only gave them two match rounds each season and has since elapsed.
While Amazon has the first pick of Tuesday matches under the new arrangement with Uefa, TNT has the live UK rights to every other Champions League game.
Mitchell complaints raise eyebrows at Newcastle
Newcastle United sporting director Paul Mitchell’s recent complaints about the club’s recruitment processes and alleged failure to embrace a “data-informed approach” have raised eyebrows at the club, given the circumstances surrounding his own appointment.
The former Southampton and Tottenham sporting director was recommended for the job at St James Park by executive search firm Odgers Berndtson, but the company’s recruitment process was not data-led either.
Mitchell has caused ructions at Newcastle since his appointment in the summer by complaining that the club’s scouting and recruitment processes are “not fit for purpose”.
That claim is known to have angered manager Eddie Howe, whose nephew Andy is part of the recruitment team.
Cricketers’ union dismissed from Oval
The Professional Cricketers’ Association is looking for a new home after being served notice at the Oval by long-term landlords Surrey.
Surrey want to use the space currently occupied by the players’ union’s offices in the Bedset Stand for other events.
The PCA has been based at the Oval since 2012 and will struggle to find headquarters as convenient as the home of the richest club in the country, who won their third successive County Championship title last month.
Surrey has also given notice to other tenants, including the production team at Wisden Cricket Monthly.