The Hundred 2026 Introduces Combined Trophy and New Overseas Ownership Models

A New Era of Global Ownership and Competition

Unified Scoring and the Combined Trophy

In a major innovation for the 2026 season, a new combined trophy will be awarded to the franchise that performs best across both the men’s and women’s competitions. This will be presented in addition to the individual titles awarded to the tournament winners.

Under the new rules, every match win—whether in the group stage, eliminator, or final—is worth four points, with a franchise’s men’s and women’s totals aggregated to determine a combined score. Furthermore, four bonus points are available to the men’s and women’s sides that finish at the top of the league table, allowing them to bypass the eliminator and head directly to the competition final.

Tie-breaking procedures have also been formalized: if two franchises finish level on points, the team with a squad that won a final will triumph. If both franchises won a final, or neither did, the decision will be based on the number of finalists and, if necessary, the combined net run-rate.

The £500m Wave of Foreign Investment

The 2026 season marks the first year where new owners can fully stamp their authority on the league, following a wave of investment that saw over £500m pumped into the competition when investors purchased all or part of their clubs. Deals for all eight teams have been finalized.

The Ambani family’s Reliance Industries Limited secured a 49 per cent stake in MI London (formerly Oval Invincibles), and Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International acquired a 49 per cent stake in Trent Rockets in late 2025.

Rebranding and Aesthetic Overhauls

The heavy overseas investment has led to significant kit adjustments, with IPL-affiliated clubs aligning their aesthetics with their counterparts. MI London, formerly performing in green as the Oval Invincibles, will now wear blue with gold trim, mirroring the Mumbai Indians.

SunRisers Leeds, formerly the Northern Superchargers, have switched from purple to orange to match SunRisers Hyderabad, which is owned by the same Sun Group. Manchester Super Giants, formerly the Originals, have swapped their black and grey kit for the red and blue stripes of the Lucknow Super Giants, while Southern Brave has abandoned green for the blue and red of the Delhi Capitals.

Birmingham Phoenix has adopted a black strip, London Spirit has added an MCC “egg and bacon” yellow and red stripe to their blue jersey, and Welsh Fire and Trent Rockets retain their red and yellow/orange schemes, respectively.

Diverse Ownership and High-Stakes Signings

The ownership landscape is diverse. RPSG Group holds a 70 per cent stake in the Manchester Super Giants, while the GMR Group possesses a 49 per cent stake in Southern Brave. The American-based Tech Titans hold a 49 per cent share of London Spirit, and Indian-American businessman Sanjay Goval holds a 50 per cent stake in Welsh Fire.

Additionally, England footballer Jude Bellingham has acquired a 1.2 per cent stake in Birmingham Phoenix, with the remaining 48.4 per cent owned by Knighthead Capital Management, which also owns Bellingham’s former club, Birmingham City, and counts NFL legend Tom Brady as a minority shareholder.

The first auction of the year saw significant capital expenditure. London Spirit purchased Sussex all-rounder James Coles for £390k, and Welsh Fire spent £200k on Jordan Cox. In the women’s auction, England all-rounder Dani Gibson earned £190k from SunRisers Leeds, while Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine secured £210k paydays from Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire, respectively.

From 18th-Century Roots to Global Franchise

While the competition looks toward its future, it maintains links to its history. Today, those logistical connections have been replaced by a globalized franchise model.

Sources: bbc.co.uk, skysports.com.