London Spirit Follows RCB's Path; Appoints New Director of Cricket

The Hundred Team, London Spirit, has adopted a new approach towards their administration. This new adopted approach is similar to the functioning of the IPL team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which is one of the richest teams in IPL history. London Spirit has appointed Mo Bobat as their Director of Cricket. Notably, Bobat enjoys the same role with RCB as well.

Bobat found incredible success with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as the Director of Cricket in the Indian Premier League 2025, where he helped them win their maiden title. He also has previous experience working as a Performance Analyst for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in the past.

New Role for Mo Bobat

Julian Metherell, the London Spirit chairman, confirmed the addition of Mo Bobat with his statement. He felt that Mo Bobat London Spirit addition could be good, given his expertise in cricket and London Spirit's aim to grow as a team. Bobat has a good amount of experience working with the RCB during the IPL over the years.

Following the announcement, Bobat claimed it to be an honor for him to join the London Spirit's camp. He looked at the potential to transform the franchise by working together with Tech Titans and MCC. Bobat hoped to build something special on and off the field.

“It's an honour to join London Spirit at such an exciting time. The opportunity to shape the cricketing future of this franchise, working with MCC and our new partners, the Tech Titans, is incredibly exciting. I'm looking forward to building something special - on and off the field,” said Bobat after the London Spirit announced him as their Director of Cricket.

A few weeks ago, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that The Hundred's teams will have private ownership, following which they the Marylebone Cricket Club and Tech Titans have taken 51% and 49% stake in London Spirit, respectively. The Spirit are one of the most expensive teams in the tournament with Lord's being their home ground.

London Spirit has had a mixed bag in the ongoing season. In their first match of the season, London suffered an embarrassing defeat, as they were bowled out for just 80 by the Oval Invincibles. While they lost it by 6 wickets, Spirit made a strong comeback and won their following game against Welsh Fire by 8 runs.

Mo Bobat Career

Bobat is known for managing big teams and achieving results. His career started as a Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science at Leicester College from 2004 to 2007. He later worked as a Teacher of Sport and PE at Wyggeston and QE1 College from 2008 to 2011. Bobat was the Chairman at Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Ltd. Coaches Association from March 2011 to March 2012.

Mo Bobat was associated with the ECB, one of the richest cricket boards in the world, for 12 years and 4 months in various roles. From November 2011 to July 2013, he worked as the Regional Performance Officer. Bobat worked as the England Development Programme Operations Manager from November 2011 to January 2018. Concurrently, he was the ECB's Player Identification Lead from May 2016 to November 2019, the period which saw England's transformation in Limited Overs Cricket.

Bobat's full-time role in England was as the Performance Director from November 2019 to February 2024, a period in which the European team won the T20 World Cup in 2022. From September 2023, Bobat has been with RCB as the Director of Cricket. Additionally, he's also the Founder, Director, and Performance Consultant at the House of Acuitas from April 2024.