LONDON: Four Indian Premier League franchise owners were on Wednesday confirmed as “strategic partners” by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for teams in ‘The Hundred’ and will gain operational control by October 1 this year.

The sport’s governing body in England said in a release that the deals with these partners, which includes India’s GMR, Sun TV Network Limited, RPSG Group, and Reliance Group, will unlock “hundreds of millions of pounds for game-wide growth”.

The ECB said two more partners — including Reliance Group for a stake in the Oval Invincibles — are set for “a formal completion at later date”.

These IPL team owners had acquired their respective stakes in The Hundred’s teams over recent months.

Some of them, including the owners of Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad, own teams competing in South Africa’s premier T20 competition SA20.

While RPSG Group, which owns the Lucknow Super Giants, will have a 70 per cent stake in Manchester Originals, the Sun TV Network Limited, the owners of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, will have a 100 per cent ownership of the Northern Superchargers.