Mumbai: Sun TV Network won the Hyderabad franchise of the IPL on Thursday for an amount of Rs 85.05 crores per year, marking an end to BCCI’s hunt for a new team in the wake of the controversial termination of cash-strapped Deccan Chargers.
The IPL Governing Council met here to open the bids for the new IPL team and Sun TV was found to have made the highest bid.
“The SUN TV Network bid was substantially higher than the second bid of PVP Ventures, which was Rs 69.03 crores,” BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a release.
In an effort to attract more bidders, the BCCI had kept the base price at Rs 60 crores per year. Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited had bought the Hyderabad franchise for Rs 428 crores for a period of 10 years.
Chennai-based Sun TV Networks Limited is one of India’s biggest television networks, primarily catering to an audience in four southern Indian languages. Their network includes channels covering news, entertainment, film, documentary and music.
The BCCI had floated the tenders for a new IPL franchise after terminating Deccan Chargers’ contract on September 15 but the team owners DCHL had challenged it at the Bombay High Court.
The High Court had ruled in favour of the BCCI after Deccan Chargers Holdings Limited failed to furnish bank guarantee of Rs 100 crore before October 12 5pm deadline. Later, an arbitrator had ordered for status quo but the High Court again ruled in favour of the Board.
An IPL source said that the Deccan Chargers players, who are now left without a team following the termination of the franchise, will get the first option in the new team owned by Sun TV.
“Sun TV will have to inform the IPL by tomorrow as to which Deccan Charger players they want in the team,” the source said.
The team’s name will also be decided soon.
Those players not selected will go to the common auction pool.
All the IPL franchises will have to indicate by October 31 which players they wish to retain for the sixth edition of the league. (PTI)