Sanjiv Goenka led RPSG Group and International Equity Investment Firm Irelia Company Pte Limited (CVC Capital) won the bids over new IPL teams based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively on Monday. These two entities would be filling up the coffers of the BCCI with a cumulative amount of INR 12,715 Cr, which is about 1.7 billion dollars. Whereas the RPSG group made their bid with INR 7090 Cr, CVC Capital threw INR 5625 Cr into the bargain.

Huge Response At The Bidding Process

The amount of money that had been put on the table during the ownership battle surpassed what BCCI was hoping to see. According to internal sources, officials at the BCCI were overjoyed by the response to its IPL bidding process. It had initial expectations of receiving bids totaling in the range of INR 10,000 Cr. However, by the time the bidding results were declared, the BCCI had amassed fortunes of almost INR 13,000 Cr. The governing board announced that next year’s IPL, its 15th avatar, would see 10 teams fighting it out for the top prize. It would have 74 matches in total, with each team playing seven home and seven away matches.

Sanjiv Goenka Stages A Comeback After A Four Year Absence

Word was around on Sunday, the 24th, that Sanjiv Goenka was keen to get back on the IPL bandwagon after a successful two-year stint during the period 2016-17. Back then, he part-owned and operated a team named Rising Pune Supergiants, which was based in Pune. That took place as an aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal which led to the eventual banning of CSK and Rajasthan Royals for 2 years. RPS had reached the final of the 2017 edition, which Mumbai Indians had won. This time around; Goenka is here for the long haul and was visibly happy when he faced the media.

He said, “Firstly, it feels good to be back in the IPL. But this is just the first step. Now, it’s really important for us to build a good team, and try and put up a good performance. So the work really begins now in terms of actually getting the coach, putting together a team.”  He further said, “IPL has created some of the biggest brands. Look at Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, and look at some of the others, they are really household names, some of the biggest brands the country has.”

When questioned about the gargantuan amount of money invested by his group, Goenka defended his position by adding, “We do believe that the valuation of this will go up in the future. And from what we invest, to what it could be over a period of 10 years would be a multiple of a few times.”

Mr Goenka made it clear that he was particularly elated to have bagged the Lucknow team as his group has several business interests in the state of Uttar Pradesh. “We distribute power in Greater Noida. We have a number of Spencer stores in the state. So we do believe that will help to connect us with the state, and we look forward to this”, he reasoned for his acquisition.

BCCI All Smiles After Successful Outing

Former India Captain and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was in a jubilant mood following a busy day at the office. He expressed his happiness about the fact that the IPL would now penetrate newer regions of the country and would allow talented local players to play at the highest level. He opined, “The IPL will now go to two new cities in India viz. in Lucknow and Ahmedabad. It is heartening to see the inclusion of two new teams at such a high valuation, and it reiterates the cricketing and financial strength of our cricketing ecosystem. The ITT (Invitation To Tender) process included two interested bidders from outside of India, which strongly emphasises the global appeal of the IPL as a sports property.”

BCCI Secretary Sums Up The Mood Of The Camp

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah shared a similar stance and celebrated the success of the entire operation. He commented, “It is a momentous day for all of us, and I formally welcome RPSG Ventures Ltd. and Irelia Company Pte Ltd. into the IPL fold. We had promised that IPL will be bigger and better from the 15th season and with Lucknow and Ahmedabad, we will take the league to different parts of India.”