The IPL governing body had invited bids to acquire the right of two new teams for the upcoming season. With the IPL bordering on being worshipped in the country, the bidding is expected to be ruthless, landing anywhere between 375 to 425 million USD for what may be a 10-year licence. Here are a few celebs from B-town who may have eyes on a team and are willing to shell out for one.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone
The two have made headlines with reports suggesting they have filed their tender papers for a team of their own. According to a report on Outlookindia.com, Ranveer-Deepika will be bidding for a team in the Indian Premier League.
It makes sense for the couple to own a team in the lucrative IPL. They have kept themselves connected with sport; Padukone’s father Prakash Padukone is a former All England badminton champion. Singh, on the other hand, has been involved with the English Premier League and is currently the brand ambassador of the world’s most popular basketball league, the NBA. The couple’s upcoming project is also about the sport; the movie ’83, which is a deeper delve into the life of the cricket legend Kapil Dev.
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is another who had shown interest in having a team of his own. Earlier, for prior auctions, the actor had met Lalit Modi showing interest in either owning the Nagpur or Kochi team. He also backs a team in the Lanka Premiere League. Reports expect him to make another attempt this time around.
Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan
This Bollywood power couple had previously backed a bid that won but did not lead to fruition. The bid was made by the Videocon group. The group has, for over a decade, shown keen interest in having an IPL team to their name and seemed to be confident about the outcome this time around. It does make sense for the couple to have another go at their own IPL team.
Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt
Devgn and Dutt had been deeply interested in having a team to their name, meeting IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi about a decade ago, according to some sources, to make clear the interest to take charge of the Ahmedabad team, which is said to be one of the two teams up for auction right now.
There is also reason to believe that Sunil Shetty was a part of this consortium.
This would not be the first time that Bollywood actors eye the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders continue to be co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla while Preity Zinta retains her stakes in Punjab Kings. Shilpa Shetty used to back Rajasthan Royals.
No final pins can be placed yet as the bidding process is still underway. However, reports claim that the BCCI are not keen on providing rights to an IPL 2022 side to any off-shore company. The results are expected on Sunday.
Also Read; IPL 2021 Resumes: DRS Dubbed As ‘Dhoni Review System’ After Yet Another Successful Call
