IPL founder Lalit Modi took to the social media and has hit back at Kevin Pietersen’s claim that The Hundred could evolve into a UK version of the Indian Premier League.
This exchange of remarks happened on X after Lalit Modi said that The Hundred would struggle to survive in the long run, and this remark from him drew severe criticism from the English cricket fans. Replying to comment from an user, Pietersen wrote on X that the tournament would adapt to be the UK version of the IPL.
“It’ll just be the UK’s version of the IPL. Format will change to T20,” Pietersen wrote on X. Lali Modi was quick to reply with a detailed explanation to his previous remarks, “Not in this lifetime will ANY T20 tournament be like the IPL my friend,” Lalit Modi said.
Lalit Modi explained why he feels the UK does not have the right setup to support a league as big as the IPL.
He said cricket is not the main sport in England. Football is far more popular, followed by sports like rugby, horse racing, tennis and even darts. Because of this, cricket does not have a large and deeply connected fan base.
Lalit Modi also spoke about the absence of Indian players in overseas leagues. Since Indian cricketers do not play in foreign T20 tournaments, it reduces global interest and affects the commercial value of these leagues.
He further explained that the structure of English cricket makes things more difficult. With 18 county teams, it would be hard to run a full home-and-away T20 league. The schedule is already packed and there may not be enough consistent crowd support for such a long tournament.
While The Hundred has attracted strong investment, including interest from IPL team owners, Modi said money alone cannot solve these challenges.
In his view, the tournament can only grow to a certain level, similar to smaller T20 leagues around the world, possibly like the model in South Africa. He also added that traditional international matches will continue to be the main source of income for the England and Wales Cricket Board.
