Google CEO Sundar Pichai joins bid for London-based franchise in The Hundred

Alphabet’s CEO and one of Silicon Valley’s key figures, Sundar Pichai, has reportedly joined a group of Silicon Valley executives in a joint bid for a London-based cricket team in The Hundred Men’s.

According to Bloomberg, the Silicon Valley executives are ready to spend over £80 million on either the Oval Invincibles or the London Spirit. The report also added Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, and Satyan Gajwani, vice chairman of India’s Times Internet Ltd, are joining Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe chief Shantanu Narayen, and Silver Lake Management co-CEO Egon Durban for the bid.

“The Hundred offers a unique and fast-paced format that’s appealing to a wider demographic, including families and younger audiences,” one source familiar with the bid said.

The two London-based franchises have a lot of eyeballs, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) looking to sell a 49% stake in its eight teams. Given his love for the sport, it is not surprising that Sundar Pichai, too, has joined the bandwagon. Nadella and Narayen have already invested in cricket with a Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise.