It is back to auction, pun intended. Just two days from today the tenders for the two new teams will be opened. Unlike last time, there will be more parties this time around.
In the first round, which had to be abandoned and a re-tendering ordered, only two valid tenders were received by the Indian Premier League for its expansion plan.
The IPL, it may be noted, decided to re-tender for the new teams after protests from within and outside the league’s governing council.
Reliable sources say that till Thursday, 14 parties purchased forms, being sold at a cost of Rs5 lakh at the BCCI office in Mumbai. It is believed that these 14 include those who were part of the abandoned process.
Who exactly are the new parties could not be ascertained, though there is speculation about them. “We will have no idea till Saturday,” said a top IPL official while confirming the number of forms sold so far.
The parties could be known on Saturday by when the bidders will have to deposit a cheque of $10 million (Rs 46crore approximately) as a bank guarantee to be in the fray. The IPL will announce the two new teams on Sunday.
Sources indicate that among the bidders, are two consortiums from Pune. One of them is headed by Videocon that was tipped to bag a team in the earlier process. The second is believed to be a group headed by a builder.
Among others in the fray are the known ones like Jaypee Group, a consortium from Kerala, Newcon Group (a business house from Hyderabad), a media house from North India besides the Adani Group from Ahmedabad.
Parties like Sahara and Cyrus Poonawala, who had earlier expressed interest, are believed to be still undecided. When contacted, Poonawala said he is keeping his options open. “I’ve offers to from the both consortiums. I will decide later,” the racing magnate said. Sahara sources said the Indian team’s sponsors could decide on the issue in the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Cricket Association held a meeting on Thursday and decided to be part of the consortium that will “work for Maharashtra cricket”.
“We will be part of any group that is in the best interest of our state cricket,” MCA president Ajay Shirke said. As per the revised clauses, the bidders will have to deposit $10 million by Saturday evening and submit their bids by 10 am on Sunday in Chennai. The tenders will be opened an hour later.
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