By Rahul Das ( Sports Columnist)

The Hundred’s 5th edition was billed as a transitional year. Now the eight teams becoming partially or totally privately owned and dominated by Indian.

Team England has qualified for Semi final of ICC T20World Cup. Can meet India in SF. If they reach in Final, their “The Hundred” will extra booster. But can Pakistan cricketers will get the teams this time? Now, check the facts and figures.

Investing to Impress – How will the 100 looks from 2026 onwards?After a season of statis comes the big upheaval. The Hundred’s 5th edition was billed as a transitional year, the eight teams moving from being centrally run to becoming partially or totally privately owned. Next year onwards control of the teams will change hands – and 100 will change with it.There is much that could shift, from the team names to the 100-ball format itself. First, however, it’s best to consider the question behind the question.

How will these decisions be made and by whom? And what do these people want and why? Many of the calls – but not all of them – will be made by the newly formed Hundred Board, which consists of four ECB reps (whose votes are double weighted), and with a couple of expectations, one representative from each of the eight host counties and team owners. (The odd two out are Northern Superchargers, the one hundred team bought in full by a private investor, who have two votes, as do Southern Brave, given Delhi Capitals own 100 percent of Hampshire CCC as well as 49 percent of the Brave.)

The Board will have major say over several key facets of the competition, though the most significant long-term decisions – such as adding more teams, expanding the window the competition is played in, or decoupling the double headers – will have to go to the counties and the ECB board as well. For decisions that sit within the remit of the Hundred Board, a two – thirds majority will be needed to effect any changes, which means, in short, that if the 16 representatives of the eight hundred teams are in agreement, they can do what they like, no matter the ECB’s protestations.

Not that the ECB would put it that way themselves. “It’s a big room, which is great,” Vikram Banerjee, the MD of the 100 says. “There are lots of fascinating insights (from the new investors). At the start, we thought about who the world’s best are at these things, fan engagement, digital sports, and it finally came to fruition.”So, who are these new stakeholders? Broadly, they fit into three categories: the US based hedge funds who see the Hundred fitting into their portfolio of sport investment opportunities, the IPL team owners whose model is to expand their brands across leagues and territories; and the Indian American tech luminaries who love cricket, and are looking by and large to spend their millions rather than making them.

Sanjay Govil, now proud owner of the 50 percent of Welsh Fire for the princely sum of 41.5 million pounds, is in the last of these groups. “I am not really looking short term, I am looking midterm horizon,” says Govil. “I am not a private equity investor; I am coming from the perspective of building the game.“ Govil along with Tech Titans, a consortium who paid 144 million pounds for 49% of London Spirit, have been the two investors keenest to speak to the cricket media, which, is in part, because they are true cricket fans, and newer to this world. “It’s one of the things which the British left for us in India,” says Govil. “All of us grew up watching cricket, and everybody plays cricket. Cricket’s just buried in our blood. So having the opportunity to be part of cricket is just a dream come true for me.”

The Hundred teams are now billionaires’ playthings, and the month of August their playground. But it’s still unclear exactly what that will look like. Until now, the focus has been on the deals themselves, with the initial auction only a smart part of the process. Each of the eight investors has had to undergo, in effect, a dual negotiation, with the ECB and with each host county, all needed to be completed before the transfer date of October 01. As that day will loom, thoughts can turn to the tournament itself, and what exactly these new powerbrokers want to do with it. “Everything is up for discussion, says Govil.

On the most basic level, the Hundred could look very different this year, as new team owners change names and kits to align with their other outfits. The four IPL team owners, all of whom also own sides in other franchisee competitions, will look to fit their newest purchases into their existing portfolios. Northern Superchargers will likely become Sunrisers Leeds, and play in Orange rather than purple. Manchester Originals will become Manchester Super Giants, and play in blue.

Southern Brave may well become Southampton Capitals, despite not being in the Capital and play in Blue. Oval Invincibles will likely become MI London (against the wishes of Surrey) and play in, you guessed it, blue.

Perhaps home and away kits would become a welcome innovation.In some cases, there is already clear alignment. Tech Titans would like to keep their London Spirit name, (and remain blue). Govil is yet to decide on a name change, but he’s clear that maintaining Welsh Fire’s national identity will be front and center of the teams branding. He wants to bring Bodelwyddan -born Phil Salt home, and even jokes that he might change his own name to fit in with his new CAMBRIAN BRETHREN.

Tammy Beaumont, a Welsh Fire since 2022, views it similarly and would like to see Katherine Jenkins singing the Welsh National Anthem before every home game. However, while Govil wants to build the Fire’s links to Wales, he also wants to strengthen their ties to Washington Freedom, the major League Cricket Franchisee he owns.

Washington Freedom’s Steve Smith circumvented the draft to sign directly for Welsh Fire, a deal type that may become more common as team owners attempt to include the same marquee names across competitions. And Govil is hoping for movement in the other direction as well: “I’d like to see more and more English Players play in major league Cricket.” Given the ECB’s NOC policy barring most cricketers from overseas competitions during the English Season, Govil could have a battle on his hands.