The Hundred 2026 Explained: New Team Names, IPL Owners, Format and Major Changes

The Hundred 2026 ushers in a new era with IPL-backed franchises, rebranded teams, record investment and exciting format updates. Here's everything to know about the tournament, its rules, teams and key changes.

The Hundred 2026 Explained (Image Source: Google)

The sixth edition of The Hundred gets underway on Tuesday, 21 July, ushering in a new era for English cricket. Featuring record-breaking, high-octane action, the tournament will see the men's and women's competitions run simultaneously. Designed as cricket's fastest professional format, each match lasts around two and a half hours, making it more appealing to broadcasters and fans alike. This season marks the tournament's biggest transformation since its launch, with new investors, refreshed team identities, and enhanced coverage set to elevate the competition to new heights.

Start of a new era: The stakes in the eight sides were sold, raising more than £500m to boost finances for cash short 18 county cricket clubs and at least £50m kept for grassroots participation.

What is The Hundred: This is a white-ball cricket tournament of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), launched in 2021.
Format: Both teams bat for 100 balls, including a powerplay of 25 balls (only two fielders are allowed on the boundary). A bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls, in a set of 5 or 10 balls.

Teams: Eight teams representing cities of the UK, not county cricket clubs, known as:

• Birmingham Phoenix (Edgbaston)
• London Spirit (Lord's)
• Manchester Originals has changed to Manchester SuperGiants (Emirates Old Trafford)-70% owners RPS Group (Lucknow SuperGiants).
• Oval Invincibles has changed to MI London (The Kia Oval)- 49% owners Reliance Industries Ltd. (Mumbai Indians).
• Southern Brave (Utilita Bowl)- 49% owners GMR Group (Delhi Capitals joint owners).
• Northern Superchargers has changed to SunRisers Leeds (Headingley)- 100% owners Sun Group (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
• Trent Rockets (Trent Bridge)
• Welsh Fire (Sophia Gardens)

Incidentally, only three IPL linked teams have changed names, reflecting the investors’ identity.

How the teams were built up: Through an Auction (akin to the IPL), the UK’s first major sporting auction, was held in London on March 11 and 12 this year. The number of overseas players increased from three to four.

Most successful team so far: MI London with three men's titles (last three years) and two women's titles (first two years).
Schedule: The group stage runs until 12 August with each team playing eight matches (One match each against six teams and two matches against local rivals). The local pairings: Phoenix and Rockets, Spirit and MI London, SuperGiants and Sunrises, Brave and Fire.

The top side after the group stages shall qualify for the final, at Lord's, on Sunday, 16 August. The second and third-placed teams play in the Eliminator on 14 August, at The Kia Oval and the winner qualifies for the final. The women's final shall start at 18:45 IST and the men's from 22:30 IST.

Total matches: 68 (34+34) matches.

The commentator lineup for the tournament includes former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane, ex-New Zealand international Katey Martin and current England Test opener Emilio Gay.

The tournament is set to receive a large fan-following and audience following the involvement of IPL owners with four out of eight teams, as stakeholders.

Salary of players: The salary pot increased in the men's competition by 45% to £2.05m per side and in the women's competition by 100% to £880,000. The men's players' contracts range from £200,000 to £31,000 and the women earn between £65,000 to £10,000.

Kits: The players from the eight teams showed off the new kits at the Kia Oval. This year five teams have changed their primary colors with this rebranding and now five teams wear either blue, red, or a combination of the two.

Overall Trophy: A new team trophy was launched this year that will reward a team’s collective efforts across both the men’s and women’s competitions, to be crowned as ‘overall’ champions.