ECB pressured to offer The Hundred stake to BCCI just to get Indian players
Lancashire CEO Daniel Gidney stated that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should try to bring Indian male cricketers into the Hundred. Gidney added that the ECB should consider offering the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a minority ownership stake in the tournament as a strategy.
Indian men’s players are not permitted to compete in leagues outside the IPL without a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI. They can only play in foreign leagues after retiring from all domestic cricket. Players who are not actively part of the national setup have retired to pursue opportunities.
I Think It’s Possible – Daniel Gidney on India Players’ Participation in Hundred
Daniel Gidney recently visited India to meet with the RPSG Group, who are in the process of finalizing a deal to acquire a 70% stake in Manchester Originals. The ECB’s deadline for new investors to sign agreements is at the end of April, with the documents currently in the final stages of legal review.
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Gidney said that offering the BCCI a minority stake in the Hundred could change their stance on allowing Indian men’s players to participate. He added that it would be the best strategy to bring Indian players into the tournament.
“I think it’s possible,” Gidney told ESPNcricinfo. “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 men’s] players in the Hundred. It comes down to the will, and the individuals on both sides.”
The BCCI Have Been Really Successful – Daniel Gidney
Gidney also said that the BCCI protected its brand and prevented other T20 leagues from competing with the IPL. He added that the BCCI’s current policy has played a major role in the IPL’s growth.
“The BCCI have been really successful with protecting their brand and by making sure they don’t plan any T20 tournaments anywhere in the world… If I was the BCCI, then I would have to say I would need a significant incentive to relax the current policy because that has been extraordinarily successful and has grown the IPL into the massive commercial entity that it is.”
We’ve Probably Had More Indian Overseas Players – Daniel Gidney
The Lancashire CEO stated that the Manchester Originals are in a strong position to attract Indian players. He pointed out that the county has had more Indian overseas players than most other teams.
“We’ve probably had more Indian overseas players than any other county,” Gidney said. “When you have VVS Laxman at the NCA, who [Lancashire director of cricket] Mark Chilton captained, then you have strong relationships all the way through.
“It’s all about relationships between stakeholders… If you build a relationship with the BCCI and understand the types of players that they see as potential future Test players, that’s a lot easier than putting in an NOC request saying ‘We’d like to see Virat Kohli or Rishabh Pant playing in the County Championship.'”
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