RPSG Group, the owners of Lucknow Super Giants, have secured a 70 per cent share of Manchester Originals
RPSG Group, the owners of Lucknow Super Giants, have secured a 70 per cent share of Manchester Originals
Manchester Originals’ new majority share owners have wasted no time in announcing their lofty ambitions for the club.
Their aim is to become one of the biggest sporting franchises in the region, along with football clubs Manchester United and Manchester City. The RPSG group were quick to act when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) invited foreign groups to invest in the league and its clubs., and they have now acquired a 70 per cent stake in the Manchester Originals for £80m.
Speaking to the media at a press conference in Old Trafford, RPSG Vice Chairman Shaswat Goenka remarked that they want to give Manchester a cricket team that is as big as its football clubs.
Goenka stated: “We are not football, we are cricket. This is not about football fans, this is about cricket fans and we want the Manchester franchise in the Hundred to become the third biggest sports team in Manchester and challenge those two sports teams in Manchester.”
The organisation already owns two cricket franchises—the IPL's Lucknow Giants and South Africa's Durban Giants—and is now adding Manchester Originals as its third team. Initially, the RPSG group had planned to acquire a 49% stake in London Spirit, the Lord’s-based franchise, but that share was ultimately snapped up by a consortium of executives from Google, Microsoft and Adobe.
However, Goenka expressed that they were delighted to have gone with the Originals: “Lord’s is Lord’s, but Manchester is Manchester and while we did bid aggressively for Lords, we stopped at a point and I’m extremely happy.
Emirates Old Trafford is the home of the Manchester Originals
Emirates Old Trafford is the home of the Manchester Originals
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Photo by Nathan Stirk - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)
“Manchester is a global sporting hub, one of the top five sporting cities in the world. It has a rich sports history and a rich cricketing history, and it’s supported by passionate fans.
"Old Trafford itself is a landmark. The rich legacy of the Lancashire County Cricket Club is unparalleled. So in a nutshell, the Manchester Originals is hugely attractive.”
This deal with RPSG will see Lancashire County Cricket Club gain £25m along with 3% of the television deal which will begin from 2029. It is presumed that the money will be used to settle debts and improve Old Trafford’s infrastructure.
CEO Daniel Gidney credited late chairman David Hodgkiss for the deal: “He was the one who pulled me aside during the India-Pakistan game here in 2019 and said: ‘Daniel, look at how this crowd celebrates a single cricket match. Look at the passion, look at the energy. That’s what we need in Lancashire, that’s what we need in Manchester, that’s what we need in UK cricket.’ In many ways he was a visionary and he was absolutely right.”