MUMBAI: Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta have pipped some high profile corporates to win bids for the Indian cricket board’s upcoming Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL).
While Khan along with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta won the bid to own the Kolkatta team, Zinta along with Ness Wadia won the same for the Mohali team. Khan bid $ 75.09 million, whereas Zinta and Wadia bid $ 76 million.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries won the bid for the Mumbai team for $ 111.9 million, whereas liquor baron Vijay Mallaya won the bid for the Bangalore team for $ 111.6 million.
On the other hand, GMR Holdings bagged the Delhi team for $ 84 million, India Cements won the bid for the Chennai team at $ 91 million, Deccan Chronicle won the bid for the Hyderabad team for $ 107.01 million and Emerging Media won the bid for the Jaipur team for $ 67 million, in partnership with Lachlan Murdoch.
King Khan is hopeful that the Prince of Kolkata Saurabh Ganguly will lead his Kolkata team.
Emerging Media chairman Manoj Badale said, "We are delighted by the award, but we recognise that the hard work begins now. There is a lot to do in eight weeks, but the IPL has already shown what can be achieved in a short timeframe!"
Murdoch added, "I am delighted to be participating in such an exciting venture, and believe that the potential for Indian domestic cricket has never looked better!"
Of the 14 bids that were submitted, three were disqualified namely – ICICI Ventures, Kishore Biyani’s Future Group and Sahara Hospitality.
A total of 59 matches will be played over 44 days with ICC umpires officiating the games, which would be broadcast live on Sony’s movies and special events channel Max.
