Pune and Kochi are two new IPL teams

Chennai, March 21 (IANS) Sahara Group and Rendezvous Sports, a consortium of business houses, pipped three other corporate biggies to win the bids for two new Indian Premier League teams from the next season.

Sahara Adventure Sports Group was the highest bidder at $370 million (Rs.1,702 crore) and bagged Pune as the host city. Kerala-based consortium Rendezvous Sports bid $333.33 million (Rs.1.333.33 crore) to get Kochi as the other franchisee to make the IPL a 10-team affair from 2011.

"There were five qualified bids and the bidding was extremely competitive. I hope they make good business," IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said, announcing the bid results here Sunday.

In the first IPL auction three years back, eight teams were sold for Rs.2,840 crore while this time the two new teams fetched an astronomical Rs.3,035.53 crore.

"It only shows there is no recession for the IPL and it is in the upswing," Modi said.

Two other bidders in fray, Adani Enterprises and Videocon, who were part of the cancelled bidding process March 7, lost out.

Modi said the Sahara Group had the option of choosing from Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Pune as their home. The corporate from Lucknow picked Pune as its host city.

"Sahara bid for Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Pune and was asked to settle for one city. The franchisees is given for the next 10 years," Modi said.

He said the base price for bidding was $225 million. He also said that the franchisee fee for the two new teams was for 10 years.

The two new teams will join eight franchisees that have been part of the IPL for three years: Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

With 10 teams, the next edition of the IPL will have a total of 94 games under the existing format, which now has 60 matches involving eight teams.

The matches have been extended this year to catchment areas of the franchisees: Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Nagpur and Dharamsala.

The bidding was to take place March 7 in Mumbai but was postponed by two weeks after the bidders and, importantly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took umbrage at the stiff financial clauses.

The offending clause the bidders wanted removed was the one requiring them to have a net worth of $1 billion. The IPL agreed to remove it.

The IPL also agreed alter two other clauses, one reducing the advance deposit from $100 million to a $10 million "performance guarantee", to be submitted 24 hours before the bids are opened.

It dropped the clause of discretion to seek from the winning bidder the full amount with a time-frame and instead ask for only 10 percent of the bid within 48 hours.

The entry fee clauses were opposed by the board president and secretary on the ground that these were not part of the earlier auction.

Modi, however, had justified the move saying the clauses were introduced to allow only serious bidders.

The board has said the tournament is essentially BCCI property and it has to formulate rules and regulations for the franchises as it is the final arbiter in all cricket-related matters in the country. So, the board must approve all decisions of the IPL governing council.