Chettinad Cement eyes Chennai franchise

 

The two franchisees had to be suspended for two seasons following the Justice Mudgal committee’s order and the BCCI working committee’s decision to replace them has provided window of opportunity for other corporate giants to take a plunge into the popular cricket league.

 

The BCCI has been issuing tender forms to replace two franchisees and it’s learnt that Chettinad has bought the papers with its eyes firmly on the Chennai franchisee. Apart from Chettinad, Kolkata-based RP-Sanjeev Goenka Group, Ceat Tyres, Hyderabad-based PVP Group and Videocon are also in the fray, according to sources.

 

Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon, had earlier spoken about a “great opportunity to buy a team” for a bargain price. With the top players such as MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Brendon McCullum and Ajinkya Rahane available in the market, it appears there are a lot of takers for the franchisees even though the league’s image may have been hit by fixing and betting scandals. The PVP Ventures, which jointly bought Indian Super League football team Kochi Blasters with Sachin Tendulkar, had unsuccessfully bid for the Hyderabad franchise of the IPL.

 

The BCCI will issue the forms till November 30 and more companies are expected to buy the documents. Chennai-based tyre major MRF Limited could also join the fray. The two successful bidders in a reverse auction process would be unveiled on December 8.