The Hundred will abandon its draft and run a full player auction ahead of the 2026 season, mirroring the system the IPL has used for years. At the same time, the eight men’s sides will see their collective wage cap jump by 45 % to £2.05 million, while each women’s team can now spend up to £880,000 – double the current figure.
Those changes were signed off on Thursday as part of the ECB’s post-equity-sale “reset”. Private investors, who bought stakes in the competition earlier this year, had been keen on an auction to simplify squad-building and, frankly, to make the event a bit more of a spectacle.
Key numbers first
• First auction pencilled in for March 2026
• Men’s team cap: £2.05 m (up from £1.2 m)
• Women’s team cap: £880k (up from £440k)
• Minimum women’s salary rises from £10k to £15k
• Overseas slots increase from three to four per squad, subject to visas
• Squad size stays at 16–18 players
Direct signings and deductions
Franchises may still line up two overseas players and two centrally-contracted England players outside the auction, between mid-November and mid-January. The cost of any early deals will be docked from the team’s auction purse – £350k for one signing in the men’s competition, scaling up to £950k for four. The women’s deductions range from £130k to £360k.
Wildcard picks remain in place. Two domestic players per team can be added from the Vitality Blast via a mini-draft next June, one more nod to the event’s original purpose of linking up with county cricket rather than replacing it.
No “right-to-match” card has survived the overhaul, though multi-year contracts finally make an appearance. The ECB says each side must also hit a salary “collar”, a minimum spend designed to avoid any franchise trying to cut corners and bank the cash.
Banerjee upbeat, but keeping it measured
Vikram Banerjee, managing director of The Hundred, stressed that the move is not change for change’s sake. “This is a hugely exciting time for the Hundred. These changes will help us make the competition even better, ensuring we get the best players in the world and improving the standard of cricket and level of entertainment further again.”
He added: “Working alongside our new partners we’ve been exploring how we can take The Hundred forward and we’ve decided that moving to an auction will allow us to improve the competition. For a competition that has always been proud to innovate, we’re delighted to be holding the first auction in major UK sport.”
And on the guiding principles, Banerjee was clear: “In making this decision, we have stuck to three key principles: i) ensuring The Hundred attracts the best players in the world, ii) maintaining a competitive balance between the squads, iii) guaranteeing whatever changes we make work across the men’s and women’s games.”
Player reaction has been cautiously positive. One senior England white-ball regular, speaking off the record, said an auction “should reward form and reputation fairly”, though a couple of county coaches are privately worried that a March auction clashes with pre-season schedules.
Analysis – why now?
The tournament has been looking for a fresh hook after three summers of decent but not spectacular growth. Equity partners brought in more than £550 million; they will want visibility on where that money is heading. A public auction, complete with paddle-raised bids, offers exactly that while giving headline writers something tangible – and, the ECB hopes, attracting the top-tier overseas names that occasionally gave The Hundred a swerve.
For the women’s game the pay rise feels overdue. A £15,000 minimum is still modest when compared with some WPL retainers, yet doubling the overall pot should keep England’s best at home and tempt a few more internationals as well.
There are still loose ends. Visa clearance for a fourth overseas slot can be sticky, and fans have long memories of previous ECB ventures that promised plenty then fizzled out. Still, a clear framework is now in place, and if the sums add up the auction could become The Hundred’s new centrepiece rather quickly.
Plenty to iron out, much to gain – the auction era starts in 2026.
