Indian cricket team talk: Negotiations on over bid norms

Mumbai: Intense parleys were on between the top brass of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and prospective bidders for the two new teams of the high-profile league. The negotiations, it is learnt, are over the conditions laid out by the IPL.

At the time of going to press, not many had actually submitted the tender forms. The IPL officials are believed to be in negotiations with parties over this matter.

One of the key objections is the submission of bank guarantee for the amount one has bid for. If one buys a team at the base price of $225 million — which is the most likely eventuality — he is required to give a bank guarantee of that money which is about Rs1200 crore. Besides, the bidder could end up forfeiting the up front bank guarantee of $100 million (Rs430 crore) if he were to default in honouring his commitment.

“We are open to negotiations on this. If the governing council of the IPL agrees we can relax some norms,” a top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told DNA. The governing council is to meet on Sunday morning before the announcement of the new teams is made.

The IPL officials, however, were tightlipped over the matter. IPL chairman Lalit Modi said he would field queries on the new teams only on Sunday.

Indications are that the Adani Group — which is likely to bid for a team in Ahmedabad — is being strongly backed by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. The Pune bid, headed by Venugopal Dhoot’s Videocon, has the backing of a bigwig from Indian cricket.
Meanwhile, Cyrus Poonawala, the vaccine-maker from Pune, told this newspaper that he’s exploring options whether to be part of his city’s consortium or to join an existing team. “I’ve not yet made up my mind over my participation. I’m in negotiations with existing teams. And I have also the option of joining the Pune team,” he said.

A Videocon official, however, refused to pass comments on the company’s likely alliance even as reports suggested that Abhishek Bachchan could be part of his consortium. The Bachchans, currently out of the country, could not be reached for their reaction.