Actor in talks to buy team in expanded league.
When Salman Khan, clad in a white shirt and blue jeans, bodyguard in tow, strolled into a five-star hotel in Bandra, the waiting journalists thought it was a private visit. A few minutes later, his sister walked in, followed by her husband.
An hour after the star and his family members left the hotel, it was revealed that Salman was on a business mission. The actor is interested in buying a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“He came to discuss the possibility of owning an IPL team,” IPL chairman Lalit Modi confirmed. “I think he is serious about it.” The IPL will be expanded to a 10-team league in 2011.
If the deal comes through, Salman will join a Bollywood bandwagon comprising Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty who either have stakes in or ownership of IPL franchisees.
It may not, however, be easy for Salman to join the elite club. A franchise in 2011 will come with a heavy price tag, much higher than what the IPL owners shelled out in 2008.
Initial estimates by the IPL governing council peg the base money at $250 million, over Rs1,000 crore. That is more than double the price paid for the costliest franchise in the current IPL set-up — Mumbai Indians was bought by Mukesh Ambani for $111 million. Shah Rukh is paying a mere $76 million over 10 years for the Kolkata franchise.
IPL will open the tender process for the new teams in December. The new teams could be announced by January next year. At this stage, the new franchises are likely to be for Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Rajkot and Visakhapatnam.
Salman will have intense competition from business houses in the country and abroad. Anil Ambani, for one, is believed to be interested in buying Ahmedabad. He had missed it by a whisker three years ago. An Ahmedabad-based business tycoon is also reportedly interested in owning a team.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is pitching hard for a team too.
There could be competition from the film industry. Actors Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan are reportedly interested.
It is learnt that Salman would be bidding in collaboration with a business house. But people close to him say he has still not decided whether to buy a new team or an existing one.
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