MUMBAI: International Management Group, which has held the events rights of the Indian Premier League since its inception, is in crisis talks with the BCCI to try and salvage the deal, after the Indian cricket board sent IMG a termination notice last week.
As a top BCCI official told PTI on Friday: “Yes, we have sent them a termination notice.”
In the wake of the reports, IMG issued the following statement Saturday: “We are in discussions with our colleagues at the BCCI, who we are proud to support on the IPL which has become one of the world’s leading sporting events since its inception in 2007. Most recently, together we safely delivered a successful 2020 season in the UAE, despite extraordinary challenges posed by the global pandemic.”
As per reports, the board plans to run its premier tournament with its own set of professionals from this year’s edition.
It bears noting that the current IPL contract the UK-based sports management giant had negotiated in 2017 was for a five-year period, and which was to run till 2022.
“The BCCI has, over the years, gained rich experience in running the league and is well-equipped to put in place a world class team to run the show. Right now, all we can say is that the partnership with IMG has run its course,” Times of India reported, quoting a BCCI source as having said about the decision to part ways with IMG.
As for why the deal “has run its course”, multiple reports allude to cost saving as being the primary motive. As per SportzPower’s understanding, BCCI’s current deal with IMG involves a remuneration Rs 335 million a year. This can be “massively” reduced if the operations are brought in-house, appears to be the thinking within the board.
If price is indeed the main bone of contention then, the “discussions” between IMG and BCCI would in all likelihood be centred around renegotiating the terms downwards.
