• Source:JND
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Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet Inc., is entering the world of cricket, joining a high-profile group of Silicon Valley executives and business leaders bidding to buy a London-based cricket team. The group has submitted a bid of more than £80 million (roughly Rs. 843.8 crores) for the Oval Invincibles, or London Spirit, one of two London teams competing in England and Wales’ new cricket competition, The Hundred. The involvement of Pichai and other tech companies signals a growing interest in sports investment.

Tech mogul members of this cricket consortium

The consortium, led by Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks Inc., and Satyan Kaswani, vice president of Times Internet Ltd., is bidding more than £80 million for one of the two teams. Other tech heavyweights like Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Adobe's Shantanu Narayan, and Silver Lake Management's Ekon Durban are also part of the consortium. Last year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced plans to sell its stake in the Hundred franchise to private investors, enabling The Hundred to raise funds.

What is 'The Hundred'?

According to its website, The Hundred is a fast-paced, action-packed cricket tournament. It follows a 100-ball format and is designed to appeal to both dedicated cricket fans and newcomers.

The tournament features eight city-based teams, each representing a major UK city. The teams, formed specifically for The Hundred, compete over five weeks each summer, with both the men's and women's tournaments taking place simultaneously.

Each team consists of 15 players, including a maximum of four overseas stars. The men's team may also feature two centrally contracted England players. For the men's competition, teams are created through a draft system, while the women's team has its own player selection process.