MUMBAI: The governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday invited bids to acquire the right to own and operate 1 (one) of the 2 (two) new teams proposed to be introduced to take part in the tournament from the 2022 season, through a tender process.
The interested party will have to purchase an Invitation to Tender by paying a non-refundable amount of Rs 1 million plus GST before making their bid.
However, details of what exactly was required to satisfy the eligibility criteria set forth by the BCCI were not disclosed in the official statement. The addition of two new IPL teams was listed in the BCCI agenda in their AGM, which was held on December 24 last year. The decision was approved BCCI’s general body, which includes state associations, after their meeting in Ahmedabad.
BCCI expects to get richer by Rs50bn
And while the BCCI has had no inclination to release its statement of accounts since 2017 believe it or not (due process? whatever is that), the addition of two new teams is expected to further fatten the bank balance of the richest cricket board in the world.
“Earlier top brass was thinking about keeping the base price for two new teams at Rs 1700 crore (Rs 17 billion) but later it was decided to keep the base price at Rs 2000 crore (Rs 20 billion),” a senior BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
The source, who has dealt with the financial side of IPL in the past, said that the BCCI stands to gain at least Rs 50 billion if the bids go as per plan with plenty of large business conglomerates showing active interest in bidding.
“The BCCI is expecting anything in the range of 5000 crore if not more. There will be 74 IPL games next season and it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
As per PTI, only companies with an annual turnover of Rs 30 billion will be allowed to bid for the teams.
In a welcome development, meanwhile, the BCCI is planning to allow a consortium to bid for teams as it makes the bidding process more vibrant.
“I think more than three business entities won’t be allowed to form a consortium but if three business come together and wants to jointly bid for a team, they are welcome to do so,” said source told the newswire.
Among the venues where the teams could be based include Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Pune.
BCCI statement in full
The Governing Council of the IPL invites bids to acquire the right to own and operate 1 (one) of the 2 (two) new teams proposed to be introduced to take part in the Indian Premier League from the IPL 2022 season, through a tender process.
The detailed terms and conditions governing the submission and evaluation of bids including eligibility requirements, process for submissions of bids, proposed new teams’ rights, and obligations, etc. are contained in the ‘Invitation to Tender’ (“ITT”) which will be made available on receipt of payment of non-refundable fee of INR 10,00,000 (Rupees Ten Lakhs Only) plus any applicable Goods and Services Tax. The ITT will be available for purchase till October 5, 2021.
Interested parties are requested to email at ittipl2021@bcci.tv to get further details for purchasing the ITT. The email requesting the ITT should have the subject line “ITT for the Right to Own and Operate One of Two Proposed New IPL Teams”. Any interested party wishing to submit a bid is required to purchase the ITT. However, only those satisfying the eligibility criteria set out in the ITT and subject to the other terms and conditions set out therein, shall be eligible to bid. It is clarified that merely purchasing this ITT does not entitle any person to bid.
BCCI reserves the right to cancel or amend the bidding process at any stage in any manner without providing any reason.
