England's The Hundred cricket competition will switch to an IPL-style player auction for the 2026 season next year, the organisers announced on Friday, with a significant increase in salaries.
The Hundred, launched in 2021, previously used the draft method for player selections with salary tiers.
However, the league will hold its first ever player auction in March 2026, with overall salary spending in the men's tournament taking a huge jump of 45 percent to 2.05 million pounds ($2.69 million) for each of the eight teams.
The women's edition will also see a huge rise in the salaries, double from previous years to 880,000 pounds ($1.16 million) per team, while the minimum salary for women players will rise by 50 percent to 15,000 pounds ($19,600).
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Among other changes, there will be a salary cap along with a 'collar' -- the minimum amount each team must spend in the auction.
Each team can have around 16-18 players per squad, including a maximum of four overseas players.
The teams will be allowed to make up to four signings ahead of the auction between mid-November until the end of January, including one retention from the previous season along three direct signings from overseas or England's centrally contracted players.
The sixth season of The Hundred is scheduled to take place in July-August 2026.