IPL dreams on hold, Anil Ambani eyes Team India’s sponsorship

Anil Ambani is making his foray into cricket. He may not own an Indian Premier League (IPL) team like his brother Mukesh yet, but the industrialist is vying for other things — Team India’s sponsorship.

Days after Lalit Modi was suspended as IPL chairman, his successor Chirayu Amin gave a clean chit to the younger Ambani by stating that the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is not a blacklisted company.

It has been reliably learnt that ADAG has bought the tender form floated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for Team India’s sponsorship.

The form costs Rs5 lakh. Though no BCCI or ADAG official spoke on record about Ambani’s interest in Team India’s sponsorship, sources say the industrialist’s company purchased the form on Monday, the day it went on sale. A

DAG is one of the major sponsors for the International Cricket Council, having reportedly invested about $100 million for an eight-year deal.

The BCCI floated the tenders as Team India’s sponsorship deal with Sahara is about to end in a month. It is not known if Sahara will continue its association with the Indian team as it now has its own team — Sahara Pune Warriors — in the IPL. “We’ve not made a decision yet,” said a Sahara spokesman. However, it is likely that the company will buy the form too. The last date for submitting a bid is May 29.

This is the second tender process initiated by the BCCI in six months.

The last attempt in December 2009 evoked no response as the BCCI had reportedly put a high base price for the sponsorship. The current base price is not yet made public, but sources in the BCCI say it will be as much as Sahara currently pays.    

The current rates are Rs2 crore for a Test match, Rs1.9 crore for an ODI and Rs1.5 crore for a Twenty20 match. In December last year, the BCCI ended up burning its fingers by putting Rs3 crore as its base price. Nobody had bought the forms.

This time, however, the situation looks different. With a big player like ADAG jumping into the race, the BCCI may end up with a big deal. Team India’s sponsorship means the logo of the company will be prominently flashed on the players’ jersey.