Leagues realising value of our brand: KKR CEO on ‘The Hundred’ report

Kolkata, May 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) Reacting to the report in the British newspaper 'The Telegraph' that Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) want to invest in 'The Hundred' if the meet is opened up to private investment, KKR CEO Venky Mysore on Wednesday said all leagues around the world are realising the value of their brand.

"I think (all other) leagues are realising the value of having investors such as us who bring our brand, professional management, marketing ideas & a huge fan base," Mysore was quoted as saying by KKR's official Twitter handle.

Last week, the ECB had postponed the inaugural edition of 'The Hundred' -- a new 100-balls-per-side format to be played by eight teams in separate men's and women's tournaments -- to next year due to the COVID-19 crisis.

As per the 'Telegraph Sport' report, "private investment was initially rejected when the idea of the new 100-ball competition was first conceived but the financial turbulence caused by COVID-19 is leading to a re-evaluation in the ECB's stance, Tom Harrison, chief executive at the governing body, said last week."

Two-time IPL winners KKR, co-owned by superstar actor Shah Rukh Khan, had in 2015 acquired Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel, who are now known as Trinbago Knight Riders, a winner of successive CPL titles in 2017 and 2018.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has cancelled the contracts of the players who were due to participate in the 'The Hundred' competition.

All professional cricketing activities already remain suspended in England and Wales till July 1 due to the pandemic.

Source: IANS