Sachin, Sourav, Salman, Ranbir board Indian Super League bandwagon; ready to roll

Mumbai : Following their successful cricketing careers, former India skippers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have ventured into football. The legendary duo were among the host of high profile corporates and celebrities who won their bids for the eight teams in the Indian Super League, announced here on Sunday. ISL promoters IMG Reliance and Star India announced eight league partners ahead of the inaugural season, to be staged in September to November.

Tendulkar bagged the Kochi franchise in partnership with close friend, former cricketer Chamundeshwarnath, and PVP Ventures which also owns the Hyderabad Hotshots franchise in the Indian Badminton League. Interestingly, Chamundi and PVP Ventures jointly own the Mumbai franchise in the International Tennis Premier League, Ganguly, who bid by forming a consortium with current La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid and businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjeev Goenka and Utsav Parekh, won the bid for Kolkata.

Two I League teams also became ISL partners after successful biddings. Dempo SC jointly acquired the Goa franchise along with Dattaraj Salgaocar and Videocon, while Shillong Lajong FC along with Bollywood actor John Abraham successfully bid for Guwahati. However, the Essel group owned Mumbai FC’s bid failed. Besides Abraham, Salman Khan and Ranbir Kapoor where the other Bollywood actors to win their bids. Khan along with Wadhawan Group acquired the Pune franchise while Kapoor and Bimal Parekh (CA) got Mumbai.

The remaining two franchises, Bengaluru and Delhi were taken by Sun Group and Sameer Manchanda led Den Network, respectively. Sun Group also owns IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. The sole bidding process wasn’t revealed but according to organisers, it involved extensive evaluation to see the financial stability of the bidders and their future road map. The bidders also presented a plan for grassroot development programmes involving rs 2 crore investment per year.

“Each bidder was subject to strict eligibility norms and was required to submit the bids, as prescribed under the Invitation to Bid document. Bids were evaluated in the presence of Ernst & Young representatives,” IMG R said. The tournament will likely see big names such as ex Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, former Argentina forward Hernan Crespo and England’s Michael Owen.