The owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit Mumbai Indians (MI), Reliance Industries Limited, has acquired a 49% stake in The Hundred team, Oval Invincible.
Therefore, Oval Invincibles will be renamed MI London from next season following investment from the owners of IPL side Mumbai Indians.
The acquisition for roughly £60m has now technically been concluded, while the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has verified Chelsea FC co-owner Todd Boehly’s Cain & Ares Management Credit funds’ stake in Trent Rockets was also finished in October.
It means that agreements for all eight hundred sides have been concluded, after the sale of stakes in the other six franchises in July.
Notably, the name change for Invincibles ties the team with four other Reliance-owned teams: MI Cape Town in SA20, MI Emirates in the DP World International League T20 (ILT20), and MI New York in the Major League Cricket (MLC).
The Invincibles, who won the women’s competition in 2021 and 2022 and the men’s tournament in 2023, 2024, and 2025, are the first team from the MI collective to be renamed, with the remaining franchises still operating under their present titles.
“We are delighted to welcome MI London into the #OneFamily and take the MI legacy to new frontiers,” said Reliance founder Nita Ambani.
Oli Slipper, the chair of Surrey, who retain 51% ownership of the renamed team, said, “We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with the Reliance team over our partnership in the Hundred franchise team. Reliance bring a significant depth of cricket and business expertise and have had great success with their franchise teams in India and around the world. We have worked very closely with Reliance over the name of the new team and believe that MI London will give us the best opportunity to build the fanbase at home and across the world. We also believe that the team brand will help to grow the commercial value of our franchise, in turn boosting investment into the long-term sustainable growth of Surrey and of cricket in our community.”
The move comes as The Hundred prepares to switch to an auction system. That move is expected to split apart an established group that has won three consecutive men’s tournaments for Invincibles.
Reliance’s franchises have had significant success across the world, with Mumbai Indians being the joint most successful team in IPL history, having won five titles.
The Mumbai Indians women’s team has won the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title in two of the competition’s three seasons, while MI New York have the same record in MLC. MI Cape Town won the most recent SA20 tournament, while MI Emirates won the 2024 ILT20.
