IPL bids announced; SRK, Preity, Ambani bag teams

After an extensive wait, IPL governing council chairman Lalit Modi announced the names of the winning bidders, who shelled out big money to own the teams. The UB Group chairman, Dr Vijay Mallya, won the bid for his home team Bangalore for $111.6 million as his dream of being associated with the Mumbai team came to an end when Reliance Industries Ltd chief Mukesh Ambani topped the bids for the Mumbai team with $111.9 million. Dr Mallya will still be happy as he won the bid for his home team, Bangalore. Actor Shah Rukh Khan, along with Juhi Chawla and Jay Meath, won the bid for Kolkata for $75.09 million. Actress Preity Zinta and her boyfriend Ness Wadia were declared the winning bidders for the Mohali team for $76 million. Among the high-profile names of winners were GMR Holdings, who won the bid for the Delhi team ($84 million), India Cements for Chennai ($91 million) and Deccan Chronicle for Hyderabad ($107.01 million). Emerging Media won the bid for the Jaipur team for $67 million. Said Modi: “We can say that all the hard work has paid off and that the IPL is here to stay.” The bids by ICICI, Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified as late entries. [The process makes IPL richer by about Rs 3,000 crores (or $724 million) even before it launches its Twenty20 tournament in April. The eight successful bids, for a period of 10 years, have enriched the BCCI’s already swelling coffers and added to its share of the media rights sold for $1.026 billion, which would fetch the BCCI $100 million annually, according to BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, PTI reports. [Shah Rukh Khan said he would like to see former India captain Sourav Ganguly leading his outfit in the Indian Premier League, PTI reports. He added, “I have already decided on the entertainment part, but we have not decided on the core and content of the team. We want to put together a winning combination, for which I would definitely seek advice of the experts. I don’t have anyone in mind right now but we would seek expert views on that,” he told CNN-IBN.“I hope Ganguly leads my team,” he said, adding, “It’s not about money. The idea is to nurture youngsters and give them more platform for playing cricket. I have a huge passion for the game and I want to be part of every sport. I guess I would have to make more films to ensure we can run the team.” [Ms Preity Zinta, too, sounded excited about owning the Mohali team. “All I want to say is that it was fantastic and a great opportunity. And I’m happy that we won the bid,” she was quoted by PTI as saying. [Liquor baron Vijay Mallya said, “I was the under-bidder for Mumbai but I’m happy I won the Bangalore team.”] Asked if Shah Rukh Khan was bidding just to use cricket as a means to promote his films, Mr Modi said, “Shah Rukh loves cricket and that’s why he has invested his money. It has nothing to do with film promotions. We have heard similar complaints in the past but the board has never endorsed those views.” Fans of some of the contracted international players may be disappointed in the first season as they would skip the Twenty20 tournament, which begins April 18, owing to national commitments, but Mr Modi said the pool was big enough to compensate. “A team needs only four players from abroad and we already have a huge number of them contracted with us. You will have enough of them from day one,” he added. A total of 59 matches are to be played over 44 days with ICC umpires officiating in the games, which would be broadcast live on SET Max.