Manchester Originals rebranded as Manchester Super Giants for The Hundred 2026

According to Cricbuzz, the Hundred franchise Manchester Originals will change its name to Manchester Super Giants starting in 2026.

Earlier in February this year, Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of the Durban Super Giants and the Lucknow Super Giants, purchased a 107 million GBP share in the team. It remains to be known if the franchise will adopt the Super Giants' blue color scheme instead of the Originals' black.

In order to capitalize on the competition's attraction, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) opted to privatize The Hundred and draw in outside investment last year. Goenka's RPSG Group will acquire the Manchester-based franchise.

Additionally, Goenka reportedly repelled interest from two other unidentified IPL teams in order to secure the Originals. In addition to the two cricket teams, Goenka is the owner of the Kolkata-based Indian football team Mohun Bagan FC.

We welcome Manchester Originals to our RPSG family: Sanjiv Goenka

Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Heinrich Klaasen, and, most recently, James Anderson, are all part of the Manchester Originals men's team. The lineups of the women's squad, which include Sophie Ecclestone, Beth Mooney, Amelia Kerr, and Deandra Dottin, are strong and talented.

The women's squad has never made it to the playoffs in the tournament's history, whereas the men's team of the Originals finished second in 2022 and 2023.

When the agreement was finalized, Goenka saw great potential in joining forces with Lancashire Cricket and producing high-caliber cricket for a considerable amount of time.

"We respect the legacy of Lancashire Cricket, and we welcome Manchester Originals to our RPSG family. We are committed to developing a deep bond with the players, support team, and the whole community at large. We believe in excellence and see a huge potential to deliver good quality cricket for generations to come,” Goenka was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

James Sheridan, the chair of the Manchester Originals, thought that by working with RPSG Group, they would be able to compete at a much higher level, using the IPL as inspiration.

"We want to offer our fans an experience never before seen in English cricket - looking to the IPL, and other major sports, for inspiration, as we take our match day and fan experience to a completely different level. Whether in stadia or via digital channels, Manchester will be the team to follow in The Hundred as we will look to bring the world's top cricket stars, both female and male, to Manchester every August and provide sporting entertainment of the highest level to the people of Manchester and the wider North West,” he said.

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