The Hundred will host its first-ever player auction ahead of its sixth season.
The Hundred replaces player draft with auction
Since its inception in 2021, the competition has typically seen teams build their squads through a draft. In that system, the selection order is determined beforehand, with players placed into specific price brackets.
This decision was made in consultation with The Hundred's Playing Working Group, representatives from all eight teams, the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
In addition to the shift to an auction, squads will be made up of between 16 and 18 players, with four overseas players permitted.
Also read: Enjoy it while it lasts: The Hundred is good for now, but change is coming
Salary pot increased for men's and women's Hundred
Each team will have a squad of between 16 to 18 players. While there will be a base price, the final salary of a player will be based on the last price at the time of the bidding war; a shift from the current system of fixed salary slabs. Multiple-year contracts will also be added.
The overall salary pot has been significantly increased for both competitions: 45 percent to £2.05 million for the men’s competition and a 100 percent increase to £880,000 for the women’s version. In the women's competition, the base salary for the lowest-paid players has risen by 50 percent to £15,000.
Also read: IPL founder Lalit Modi labels Hundred 'big fat Ponzi scheme' after leaking financial projections
Teams can sign up to four players in the pre-auction window between mid-November and the end of January. Of these, a maximum of three can be direct signings (which can be overseas or England centrally-contracted players), while a minimum of one must be a retained player from their previous squad.
The cost of these signings will be deducted from the team's total salary pot. The final balance will constitute their purse for the main auction, a system very similar to the IPL.
The pre-auction deduction per team is as follows:
- Men’s Hundred - £350k (1 signing), £650k (2 players), £850k (3 players), £950k (4 players).
- Women’s Hundred - £130k (1 signing), £240k (2 players), £310k (3 players), £360k (4 players)
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