The Hundred Set For First-Ever Player Auction in March 2026. The Hundred is poised to make a historic change in its player recruitment procedure after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) declared the tournament will stage its inaugural player auction in March 2026, doing away with the draft system. This development brings the Hundred closer to an IPL-style model, designed to increase competition and attract the best players from around the world.
As part of the reform, the salary cap for the men’s competition will rise to £2.05 million per team. This is an increase of 45% from previous seasons. The women’s salary cap will double to GBP 880,000, providing a huge boost to the women’s game and helping to show progress towards pay equity in franchise cricket.
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Pre-signing mechanism and deductions
Teams will now have the opportunity to sign up for four pre-signings before the auction, with a fixed amount deducted from their overall salary purse, based on how many players they retain or pre-sign.
By the new deductible model:
- One player – £350,000 (men’s) / £130,000 (women’s).
- Two players – £650,000 (men’s) / £240,000 (women’s).
- Three players – £850,000 (men’s) / £310,000 (women’s).
- Four players – £950,000 (men’s) / £360,000 (women’s).
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The cumulative deduction model establishes a balance between loyalty to core players and the capacity to rebuild teams by auction. The auction framework is anticipated to increase excitement for both fans and franchises. Bidding battles are expected for star players from around the globe. This decision is representative of the continued evolution of The Hundred and its desire to remain a competitive and commercially viable global league.