Somebody's loss is somebody's gain! India Inc biggies eye IPL team after ban on CSK, RR

Some of the big companies in India are keen on buying a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Supreme Court banned Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Tuesday from participating in the game.

This move provides room for the induction of two more teams in the next edition of IPL, reported ToI.

The IPL is the richest of the world's Twenty20 cricket leagues.

The expected list of names are: Gautam Adani, Adani group chairman, Harsh Goenka, RPG group chairman, Sajjan Jindal, chairman JSW, Venugopal Dhoot, Videocon group chairman, besides others such as Prasad Potluri of South-based PVP Ventures and the Munjals of Hero group.

Confirming the development Harsh Goenka told ToI, that honour was restored to the gentleman's game with corruption getting clean bowled by the apex court’s verdict. "The league remains an interesting investment opportunity. If BCCI auctions a franchise, I will consider it only if the valuations are considerable."

Moreover, the valuations of the IPL teams have come down considerably due to a series of corruption. According to experts, the new teams are likely to be bought for less than $100 million.

Venugopal Dhoot, one of the key sponsors of Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians, is also keen on buying a team. "We will definitely look at bidding for an IPL franchise as and when BCCI calls for bid. We spend crores in branding exercise and owning an IPL team would be a great idea," he said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might want to revive the Pune and Kochi teams. However, launching a new team for Ahmedabad may not be ruled out, according to sources.

In that case Gautam Adani may be a key contender to buy the Ahmedabad team as the billionaire businessman had once dreamt of owning an IPL team for his home state.

"The idea of having an Ahmedabad team would be great as it would draw lots of interest from corporates for being the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said an industry leader.

Sajjan Jindal is another top contender to own an IPL team. "Cricket is the number one sport in our country so there is an idea to acquire a team... an IPL team. But, I cannot comment which team would it be," Jindal, JSW group chairman said earlier this month.

He did not confirm or deny if he wanted to buy Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

JSW Sports, a JSW Group owned firm, is the owner of Bengaluru FC, one of the I-league teams led by Indian football team's captain Sunil Chhetri.

Potluri Vara Prasad might again try his luck this time after he failed to buy Deccan Charger in 2012, industry sources said.

(Image: Reuters)