2 min readApr 19, 2026 11:16 AM IST
Lalit Modi, the brains behind the Indian Premier League, has dismissed former England star Kevin Pietersen’s claim that in three years The Hundred will become the “UK’s version of the IPL”. Pietersen had written on X that The Hundred “won’t die in 3 years’ time, it’ll become a T20 competition within three years”.
“Not in this lifetime will ANY T20 tournament will be like the IPL my friend,” Modi replied before listing out the six reasons why The Hundred cannot be the IPL.
Modi said that the UK doesn’t consider cricket as a “premier sport”.
“It’s football followed by rugby followed by racing followed by tennis followed by darts,” Modi said before listing out the other reasons.
“The UK doesn’t have the die hard fan base; the population to support it; the advertisers to back it; the Indian players, who will never be allowed,” Modi wrote.
He went on to say: “The 18 counties will find it hard to come to an agreement. If they do an IPL format which is home and away, you don’t have the number of days to play it or crowds to support it.
“So better to see the reality and see it more like a South African T20 league at best. That too if it’s the only short format in the UK then the teams will break even or make a marginal profit. Keep in mind ECB’s bread and butter will continue to be the bilateral games and you all should hope that is the case as the short format requires all the above ingredients to get people to pay even a fraction of the 35 pounds per month for the football package. How many subscribers does one think there are for Sky Cricket? Simply find that number and multiply what people will pay for it. Currently for 1 month. You will be lucky if that number is even a million. I am happy to be corrected,” Modi added.
