The Hundred: What will the competition look like in 2026?

Jonty Colman

BBC Sport journalist

When The Hundred returns in 2026, there will be significant changes to England and Wales’ franchise cricket competition.

The tournament is set to receive a large increase in financial backing following sales in stakes of all eight teams.

The extra funding is expected to lead to a number of changes to the competition, such as salaries, team names and more.

This is what next year’s competition could look like and why it could be the end of The Hundred as we know it…

Will the format change?

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Oval Invincibles have won the men’s edition of the Hundred in each of the past three seasons

At present, the format is currently an eight-team tournament in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

As things stand, it is very unlikely that the format will change for next year’s competition, or in the next couple of years.

Any potential changes are more likely to come in 2029 or later, when there could be an increase in the number of games and the number of teams involved.

This is due to the current television package for the competition ending after 2028.

When is the schedule likely to be?

Compared to the 2025 tournament, next year’s Hundred is expected to be played earlier in the summer.

When looking at England men’s fixtures for next summer, the tournament is likely to begin around Tuesday, 21 July.

With that in mind, a final of Sunday, 16 August is probable.

England’s men play their final one-day international on Sunday, 19 July and are not back in action until Wednesday, 19 August.

Will any teams be changing their names?

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

The Northern Superchargers among the teams whose names are likely to change next year

Two of the eight teams have already approached the ECB to change their names before next season after being bought by Indian Premier League sides.

The Manchester Originals have told BBC Sport that their new name is likely to include Super Giants in the title as they are owned by the same group that owns the Lucknow Super Giants.

Northern Superchargers are also set to include Sunrisers in their name to match their IPL owners Sunrisers Hyderabad.

While it has not been confirmed by the Oval Invincibles, they will reportedly re-brand themselves to MI London as part of an ownership group with the Mumbai Indians.

London Spirit are set to retain their name, while the future names of the other four teams remain unknown.

Across the competition, changes to colour and branding are likely next year.

Will the salaries of players increase?

Speaking to The Telegraph,, external The Hundred’s managing director Vikram Banerjee has promised a “chunky uplift” for the salaries of players in the men’s game.

A rise in salaries in the women’s game is also expected, but there is not expected to be as much of a jump as the men’s competition.

In 2025, male players earned a maximum of £200,000, while top earners in the women’s edition pocketed £65,000.

Part of the rise in finances is because of the competition potentially switching to an auction for players, like in the IPL, rather than the draft system used in previous campaigns.

It also means that rather than a structured financial process for players, teams may opt to use more of their money on certain players.

There could also be a limit on how many players can be retained by each team to potentially as few as three players each.

What about the number of overseas players and male Indian players?

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Ravichandran Ashwin made 287 international appearances for India across all formats

At present, teams are permitted to have three international players in their teams at once, but that could increase next season.

With the heavy investment arriving in the competition, the number of overseas players permitted per team could increase to four.

At present, male players from India are not permitted to play in The Hundred as they are not allowed to play in domestic competitions outside India.

However, with the Indian-based investment in The Hundred, that could lead to a reversal of the rule.

The ECB remains keen on having Indian male players in the league.

Last month, India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin retired from playing in the IPL, meaning he could become eligible for The Hundred.

Have all eight teams got new owners?

While six teams have had financial takeovers this summer, the takeovers for the Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles are yet to be finalised.

There is a tentative deadline of the end of September to complete any further takeovers, meaning no board meeting between the eight sets of team owners will take place until October at the earliest.

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