There are apparently negotiations underway for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Delhi Capitals (DC) to purchase a portion of the Hampshire County Cricket Club. Should the deal go through, Hampshire will become the first county team to have a foreign team as its owner, which will be a significant milestone.
An agreement between GMR Group, Delhi Capitals co-owner, and Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s principal stakeholder, is reportedly nearing completion.
Bransgrove served as Hampshire’s long-term chairman, resigning at the end of 2023. Nonetheless, he still owns more than 60% of Hampshire’s shares, making him the company’s largest stakeholder. In the upcoming time frame, it is anticipated that more county clubs will abandon the member-owned business model.
According to an article published in Telegraph Sport, Bransgrove has been instrumental in Hampshire’s advancement thus far. Among the many notable developments he brought about during his tenure was the creation of the Ageas Bowl. This venue will create history in 2027 when it hosts an Ashes Test. In addition, tests against India are scheduled to take place here in 2029 and 2030. It’s also thought that Bransgrove has been aggressively trying to sell the club shares he owns for a while.
Ultimately, it is vital to note that even though I am stepping down, I am not quitting. In order to ensure that our plans for Ashes 2027 are supported by long-term financial certainty, I now play a crucial role. Bransgrove resigned from his position in Hampshire last month, but not before promising to ensure that Hampshire Cricket would never again face financial difficulties. “I intend to fulfil this commitment before I put my feet up,” Bransgrove wrote in an open letter to supporters.
Moreover, JSW Group, another Indian conglomerate, owns the other half of GMR’s ownership in the Delhi Capitals, which compete in both the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States, GMR is also partially owned by Seattle Orcas and the Dubai Capitals in the UAE’s ILT20. In contrast, JSW is the owner of Pretoria Capitals, a division of the Delhi franchise that plays in the SA20 in South Africa.
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