Shashank Singh was the breakthrough star for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The batter won praise from both experts and fans with his aggressive style of batting and various media reports claimed that he will be retained as an ‘uncapped player’. However, his latest move on social media has left a lot of fans puzzled about his future. The batter has removed Punjab Kings from his Instagram bio which now reads – “Professional Cricketer”. While nothing concrete has been confirmed from player or franchise, this development has resulted in a lot of chatter on social media.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants are among the IPL franchises who have submitted bids to acquire teams in the English Cricket Board-run The Hundred, according to a report.

The GMR Group, recently named the new owner of Hampshire, and Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United Football Club, also submitted bids before the ECB’s October 18 deadline for potential investors, reported ESPNCricinfo.

The ECB has invited bids for a 49 per cent stake in each of the eight franchises, with the board retaining majority control.

“Expressions of interest could be for all eight teams, which would be culled to four in the next step which will start in November when the investors get to meet the host counties of each Hundred franchise,” stated the report.

“Following that, investors would need to prune their wishlist to four teams, as part of the second stage, which will then come down to two teams of which they would need to make their final choice.” The ECB is aiming to finalise investors by early 2025 but is committed to a deliberate approach to avoid “underselling what it believes is a valuable product”.

ECB chairman Richard Thompson has also mentioned the possibility of a “hybrid” ownership model, where some teams remain under ECB control while others are sold to private investors.

The report further says while several IPL franchises showed early interest, not all followed through with bids.

“Punjab Kings opted out, while there has been no confirmation on whether five-times IPL champions Chennai Super Kings and equity major CVC Capital Partners, which owns Gujarat Titans, have submitted bids,” it added.

“Global sports investors INEOS, owned by Jim Ratcliffe, which owns a 27% stake in Manchester United and run the football club’s operations wing, have also opted out of bidding.” One of the main concerns for IPL franchises was whether they would be “happy being passive investors”.

(With PTI inputs)