From Oval Invincibles to MI London: The Story Behind the Mumbai Indians Takeover

How Reliance and the Mumbai Indians family secured Oval Invincibles in The Hundred, turning the London franchise into MI London after missing out on Lord’s-based London Spirit.

From Oval Invincibles to MI London in The Hundred (Image Source: Google)

The day, ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board) approved the auctions of 49 per cent stakes in each of the eight teams (based in seven cities with two teams from London), playing in The Hundred, it was clear that the interest in both the London-based teams shall be massive. Surrey County Cricket Club had Oval Invincibles, based at The Oval while MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) had the London Spirit team based at Lord’s.

It was expected that the Lord’s-based team will have the highest value of the eight and everyone knew that Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in India and owner of Mumbai Indians plus three other teams viz MI Cape Town in the SA20, MI Emirates in the ILT20 and MI New York in MLC is keen to be got associated with Lord’s, since long. Naturally an opportunity was there and it was expected that he would outbid any rivals. Within no time, expressed keen interest in the London Spirit and became the preferred bidder for the same.

The sharp financial minds associated with Reliance got busy in working out the bid for London Spirit, with plans to rebrand it as MI London. ECB knew that the London Spirit was the jewel in the crown of the Hundred, and expected to fetch bids, much more than some of the other franchises, even to the extent that this single team could bring a quarter of the sales revenue.

The London Spirit is a star attraction for its Lord’s connection as well as being ‘different’ from the other seven teams. This team was owned by the ECB, not by any county cricket club. While selling the 49% stake, the ECB gifted the remaining 51% stake to the MCC, the custodians of Lord’s. MCC decided to retain this share to have the control over the side. When London Spirit women lifted the trophy for the first time in 2025, beating Welsh Fire by four wickets in front of a record crowd for a women’s The Hundred match of 22,000, the interest in the team increased more.

Reliance, very intelligently, simultaneously started working on Plan B. What if someone outbids them for the London Spirit? They also received a feedback on the MCC disinterest in them, due to fears that the all-powerful Ambani family would dilute the MCC’s grip on Lord’s. With the Ambani family on board, MCC feared that this may make the bidding process a one-sided event, with no one willing to go against them. Reliance, decided to move on from the bidding table for Lord’s.

The Oval Invincibles, another London based team became the next sought-after side. The Ambanis zeroed in on the Invincibles more because here they had a chance to own the 100 per cent or controlling stake once Surrey county divests with its 51% share.

The Reliance ultimately paid more than £60million for a stake in Oval Invincibles, at the valuation of £123 million for 49% stake. London Spirit, on the other hand, became the highest-valued entity and was valued at £ 295 million with the ECB getting £ 145 million, from a consortium of tech giants.

For acquiring the Invincibles, the Reliance outbid the likes of CVC Capital, the owners of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, as the Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, which eventually went on to acquire the London Spirit. It has now emerged that the Oval was put up first for sale to placate the miffed Ambani’s as it was feared that no other Indian business or franchise would like to incur their wrath by going against them in a bidding war. The Oval auction started at £120 million and ended at £123 million. Everyone believes that it is a bit of a steal and could have got more valuation.

For Nita Ambani, ‘Cricket is more than just a sport; it’s a passion that unites people across geographies and cultures. Welcoming Oval Invincibles into our Mumbai Indians family is a proud and special Ambani moment.’

‘With this partnership, we expand our MI fan base across India, New York, the UAE, South Africa, and now England – ushering in a new chapter of our global cricketing journey,’ she added. ‘At Mumbai Indians, we remain deeply committed to nurturing young talent, building champion teams, and bringing fans closer to the game.’

Oval Invincibles have been rebranded as MI London in The Hundred, despite Surrey’s preference to remain a Surrey-branded team. The great takeover is complete.