IPL
New IPL teams introduced
2010-03-21 13:32
Email | Print
New Delhi - Pune and Kochi will be the two new teams to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament for the 2011 season, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi announced on Sunday.
The Sahara business group bought Pune for $370m and Rendezvous Sports World Limited, a consortium formed by five companies, got Kochi for $333m at an auction held in Chennai, Modi said at a press briefing.
"There is no recession as far as the IPL is concerned," Modi said, pointing out that the bids for the two new teams at $703m neared the total bid for the eight original teams in 2008 for $723.59m.
"We are extremely happy that we have got two robust bids. It goes to show the IPL is on an upswing," Modi said.
Pune is an industrial and education hub located in the south- western Maharashtra state, while Kochi is located in the southern Kerala state. The two new teams will join the league tournament in 2011.
India's junior minister for external affairs Shashi Tharoor had persuaded companies from his home state of Kerala to form the five-member Rendezvous consortium to bid for an IPL team, Modi said.
The IPL, currently in the middle of its third season in India, has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with teams drawing players from India and abroad.
The teams are owned by some of India's top businessmen and leading film industry figures. They include beer baron Vijay Mallya, who also owns the Force India Formula One team, and top actor Shahrukh Khan.
The total brand value of the IPL stood at $4.13bn in 2010, according to a recent evaluation by the London-based Brand Finance Plc commissioned by India's Economic Times newspaper.
Flash content loading, please wait..